Ready To Return

Keep watch and be ready for the Lord’s return by doing His will when no one is looking. 

“When David had gone a short distance…there was Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine…Why have you brought these?” Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.” The king then asked, “Where is your master’s grandson?” Ziba said to him, “He is staying in Jerusalem, because he thinks, ‘Today the Israelites will restore to me my grandfather’s kingdom.” David and his men continued along the road while Shimei was going along the hillside opposite him, cursing as he went and throwing stones at him and showering him with dirt.“ 2 Samuel 16:1-23 

David departed Jerusalem and along the way he met two very different types of people. He met kindness as Ziba helped him when had nothing and no ability to repay him. Ziba faithfully provided for David when he was hurting and vulnerable. Shimei piled on David’s pain throwing stones and cursing him as he left town. Shimei no longer feared David so he attacked him when he was down. 

The contrast could not be more clear and the message remains relevant for us today. The heart that fears the Lord remains faithful even when others fall. We live in a world of cancel culture and what have you done for me lately. Do we treat others with grace and compassion regardless of their position? Do our actions depend on others or because our hearts reflect God’s heart? Our world is not in right alignment with the righteousness of God. How will you be remembered? Are you someone who blesses or curses? 

“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.” Psalms 133:1, 3 

God’s original design for His creation is blessing and unity. God does not throw people away nor throw stones when they are down. What if unity was a filter for our decision making? The easy thing to do is to label and judge, separate and divide. When people do not share our political and moral beliefs the natural inclination can be division. 

God’s heart redeems, restores, refreshes and reunites. David said his blessing is like the dew. Like water God brings life and so should we. Shimei used his words to speak death over David. Our words have power and impact. How are you using your words? Where are you causing division not unity? How could you bring greater peace by being more graceful? 

“Evildoers do not understand what is right, but those who seek the Lord understand it fully. Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble. Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty. A faithful person will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished. The greedy stir up conflict, but those who trust in the Lord will prosper. Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.” Proverbs 28:5-27

The message of blessings and curses continue through this wisdom literature. Blessed is the one who sees the Lord and listens to Him. Are you spending time seeking and hearing? Blessed is the one who confesses their sins and trusts in God’s mercy. Blessed is the one who is faithful and generous. Solomon said that the person whose heart reflects God is the one pleases God. 

Worse than being cursed by man is being cursed by God. Solomon warns that people who live simply for their own gain, harden their hearts, close their eyes to the needy, those who talk but do not do God’s work, and those who stir up conflict will experience consequences and curses. God wants us to learn to step back and see that we are all part of the body of Christ.  He wants us to live with a heart of generosity and unity. Where in my life have I lived for myself, according to the ways of the world, rather than fulfilling Jesus call to be compassionate? 

“See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. The fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear. For fools speak folly, their hearts are bent on evil: They practice ungodliness and spread error concerning the Lord; the hungry they leave empty and from the thirsty they withhold water. But the noble make noble plans, and by noble deeds they stand. The fortress will be abandoned…till the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert, his righteousness live in the fertile field. The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever…how blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.” Isaiah 32:1-20

Isaiah foretells of King Jesus, the righteous and just King. The one who reflects the heart of God by doing what is right and just regardless of circumstances. How will people know that the person is the Messiah? The righteous king will bring life to dead places and help those in need. Think of how this connects with Ziba who fed David when he was at his lowest place. He brought peace to a man in pain. 

The effect of the person who follows Jesus will be peace and confidence as you sow seeds by every stream. We are meant to be conduits of the love and peace of Christ that help nourish others. There is work to be done.  Just like Solomon said in proverbs we are not meant to sit back and speak fantasies. Doing nothing is doing something. Followers of Jesus cannot ignore suffering. 

It does not take much effort to look around and see how much need there is in the world around us. Isaiah said noble people will make noble plans and do noble deeds. The word noble here means in alignment with or like the king.  He said that our plans and work should be like Jesus. Are your plans and purposes for today noble? Do they reflect Jesus? 

“Jesus left the temple…Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down…At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other…Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world…the sign of the Son of Man in heaven…he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect…Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away…that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left…keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.” Matthew 24:1-46

Why does God not tell us when Jesus is coming back? We know that Jesus told the truth and that there will be a time where He returns. He said it will be loud and like lightning. You will not miss it. He told his disciples to stop looking at the things of the world that look strong like them temple because all these things will fade. The secure gifts that He gave us are words that never fade and a promise that the elect that stand firm will be saved. 

Think of how all of the people must have viewed Absalom and turned away from David. It is easy to judge by current circumstances or changing power players, but only the Father knows how the story will unfold. This is a great reminder to not put our hope or faith in what we see. Our hope is in Jesus. 

He gave very simple instructions. He said keep watch, be faithful, and continue to do the work that you were called to do.  Live as though Jesus could return any time because He will return when people are not expecting it. It sure feels like we live in a world where many people have hard hearts and have let their love grow cold. Let’s not join in the crowd but let us be transformed by the love of Christ. 

Like Ziba who helped king David, we can do God’s work each day regardless of what everyone else does. We are blessed so we can bless.  We are loved so we can love. You might not be able to solve all the problems of the world, but you can help someone. Who could you help today? 

Look at the people right in front of you. You do not have to travel to the end of the earth to make a difference. Start with the next person you encounter. Give them what you can. If it’s an encouraging word, speak life like Jesus. If it’s a helping hand or hearty meal do what you can like Ziba did. The noble servant is the one who keeps doing the work even when no one’s watching knowing that God sees all we do and He will bless those who stay faithful to the end.