Impossible To Imagine

Staying true and walking steadfastly with the Lord your God will take you to places far beyond your imagination.

“Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Uzziah had done, but unlike him he did not enter the temple of the LORD. The people, however, continued their corrupt practices. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple of the LORD and did extensive work on the wall at the hill of Ophel. He built towns in the hill country of Judah and forts and towers in the wooded areas. Jotham waged war against the king of the Ammonites and conquered them. That year the Ammonites paid him a hundred talents of silver, ten thousand cors of wheat and ten thousand cors of barley. The Ammonites brought him the same amount also in the second and third years. Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the LORD his God.” ‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭27‬:‭1‬-‭6

Jotham sounds like a character out of a Batman film, but in reality, he lived a life that each of us could be proud to claim as our own. His life is recorded in only a few chapters, but it speaks volumes about who he was as a person. The most important descriptor of his life was that he was steadfast.

Interestingly, the Hebrew word for steadfast is better understood as an adverb than an adjective. The text says that he walked steadfastly. The picture that is painted is of a person whose life was aligned, faithful, centered, and directly established by God. Are these words that would describe your walk with Jesus?

They should be. One day, we all want to hear the words well done, good and faithful servant. To be steadfast does not require an advanced degree, years of experience, or abundant resources. To be steadfast requires the daily sacrifice of putting Christ first in your life and letting His Spirit lead you each day.

The text says that Jotham grew powerful as he walked steadfastly with God. He had victory over his enemies, so much so that they ended up paying him the equivalent of six million dollars a year for three years. How would you like not only to have victory in your battles but also to have provision come from the people who once attacked you? It is almost unimaginable, but this is an ordinary occurrence for those whose hearts trust in God.

Do not forget that Jotham was not born into a life free of adversity. His dad had suffered from leprosy, and he did not have years of experience leading a kingdom. He could have complained or cursed God for the things that had happened. He could have followed the patterns of the corrupt people, but he made a decision to devote his life to God. That one decision made all the difference in the direction of his life.

There is a lesson to be learned from Jotham. He is an unsung hero. His life can teach us to attend to our relationship with God and let Him establish our steps. Like Jotham, seeking God, being steadfast in our walk, and following the Spirit will lead to a life beyond what we could have imagined.

“Take notice, you senseless ones among the people; you fools, when will you become wise? Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see? The LORD knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile. Blessed is the one you discipline, LORD, the one you teach from your law; Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it." ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭94‬:‭3‬-23

The author of this psalm challenges us to see with new eyes and hear with new ears. Much like Jotham, the invitation is to walk with spiritual eyes and ears in a way that steadfastly follows the Lord. This is what a wise person chooses to do.

The question is, will we live wisely and steadfastly? Will we live with consistency by embracing the discipline required to be called faithful? The wise understand that when Jesus says follow Me, He means it. The Spirit of God who spoke through the psalmist said the same thing. The upright follow God.

If we are honest, this is a tension point. We like control. We like to lead. We like to be in the driver's seat of our own lives. Following can be hard for us because it requires sacrifice and trust. How often do we get out of alignment with the simple command to steadfastly follow Jesus? The life of Jotham is simple but not easy. Discipline is hard, but it is the key that opens the door to blessing.

The psalmist contrasts the wise and the fool. He said fools act like God cannot see or hear what we say and do. How often do we talk as though Jesus is not in the room and do things as though God cannot see? The steadfast person stays true to God because they wisely understand that God sees all, hears all, and knows all. How does this relate to you? Where have you acted like God is not in the room?

“I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind: God gives some people wealth, possessions and honor, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them...Everyone’s toil is for their mouth, yet their appetite is never satisfied. Better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?” ‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭11

What do your eyes see when you look at your life? Do you see scarcity or abundance? Do you feel blessed or cursed? Do you see beauty or brokenness? How do you see everything and everyone in your life?

Solomon said how you look at your life matters. He said there are people who cannot enjoy anything in life. Do we not know these people? People who seemingly have everything except the ability to enjoy what God has given them?

It is easy to see where others fall short. Jesus brought a mirror with Him everywhere He went and challenged people to see themselves clearly. He said to take out the plank in your own eye before you call out the splinter in another person's eye.

Wisdom tells us that we all can find times when our fleshly appetites get in the way of giving thanks to the Almighty Provider. Wisdom tells us that what the eye sees is better than what the appetite desires. This is a tough challenge for many people, especially in our current culture.

How does consumerism or holding fast to an appetite that always wants more than you have affect your ability to be steadfast? Jesus says follow Me. The flesh says yes, but not yet. The flesh tells us to follow after we get what we want, not realizing that the heart that always chases more is never satisfied and does not ever follow the Savior fully. Being steadfast like Jotham requires us to find contentment in what we have, not in what we do not have.

“Each of you, get rid of the vile images you have set your eyes on, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God. I led them out of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. I gave them my decrees and made known to them my laws, by which the person who obeys them will live. Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the LORD made them holy. I am the LORD your God; follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Keep my Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us." ‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭20‬:‭7‬-43

Ezekiel called the people to be steadfast. He called out some barriers that keep people from following faithfully. He told the people to focus on God and to get rid of the vile images and idols that they had set their eyes on.

We live in a world of ever-increasing access to vile images that can turn your heart from God. Pornography is an epidemic that affects people inside and outside the body of Christ. Is pornography not vile? Does it not affect the heart and body?

Idol worship, which really means allowing anything to take up space in your heart that was meant for God's presence, is not foreign to us either. God called them and calls us to see with spiritual eyes. All creation is evidence of a generous God who is present and provides for you. We need the Spirit to help us see clearly.

God said He gave us the Sabbath as a sign of how He steadfastly provides for us even when we do not work. He said His people desecrate the Sabbath. Do you?

Jesus said the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Jesus was telling us not to use a rigid formula for what is right or wrong to do on the Sabbath. Rather, He wants us to see it as a sign of God's faithfulness.

How many of us need a weekend from our weekend or start the week with an empty tank? This is not what God wants for us. He wants us to enter His rest and see that we can enjoy a day each week of worship, community, and contentment.

The steadfast person understands the beautiful gift that is the Sabbath and keeps it holy. You can be sure that Jotham practiced the Sabbath, and so do the servants who hear the words well done.

“When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him— these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭5‬, ‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭

If only we could understand the power of God's love and the unconditional nature of His faithfulness. We would never fear. We would be strong and courageous. We would be free and full of joy each day. We would walk steadfastly, knowing that the Creator of the heavens and earth is daily by our side and working ahead of us. Do you understand what Paul is saying in this text?

He said no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived. So the most captivating image you have ever seen, the most incredible music or inspirational sound you have ever heard, and the wisest thought on your best day cannot come close to the things God has prepared for those who love Him.

This should cause us to pause and reconsider our plans. Would you rather keep pursuing the best you can do in your own strength, according to your level of intelligence or ability, or would you rather trust in the word of God that can never be broken? Would you not rather have the best that God has for you than the best you can do on your own?

One of the definitions of the Greek word for sin, hamartia, is forfeiting an inheritance. Many people end up settling for less than the best that God has for them. They walk by the flesh, focus on idols and images, and never understand who God made them to be.

Why? At the core, it is because they do not trust God. They choose not to walk steadfastly and faithfully follow Jesus as Lord of their lives. They give Him an hour on Sunday but not Monday through Saturday. Everyone wants a Savior, but is He Lord of all? Does He have full control and authority over every word, every thought, and every action?

The truth is, we only hurt ourselves and forfeit our own blessing when we worship anyone or anything other than Jesus. Like a parent speaking to a child, Paul is trying to help people realize that God has so much more for them than they realize.

He has power. Do you understand what that means? The same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in you. The same power to heal the sick and walk on water resides in you through the Holy Spirit. How will having the person of the Holy Spirit change the way you live today?

God wants us to draw closer and dream bigger. He has so much more for you and wants to lead you to the everlasting life He planned in advance for you. Let Him lead you to new, abundant life. The God who formed your eyes and ears sees you and hears your prayers. Like Jotham, dial the direction of your life toward continually following Him, and one day, you too will hear well done.