Today’s Scripture Reading (August 19,
2013): 1 Chronicles 6
I sometimes
wonder why we somehow expect that we will live our lives without stress. I
mean, we will quit smoking as soon as we find that period of no stress, or
maybe it is that diet that we are going to start, just as soon as things
quieten down a little around us. The problem is that that is not the way life
works. Once this stress passes, there will be another one coming – and maybe a
little sooner than we really want it.
I recently
preached on the story of David and Goliath, and one thought has stuck with me.
David’s resume for going to fight against the giant was what he had done in
private – when the stress was on and the lion and the bear attacked – and
absolutely no one would ever know what it was that David had done. The truth is
that our character is revealed in the midst of our most stressful times – not
in the least stressful times. Who we are is never formed in the quiet moments
of life, but rather in the midst of the stressful ones. And it is not just our
own character development that hangs in the balance. There are others watching
exactly what it is that we are doing when the pressure is on.
Jozadak was
not in a good situation. He was the son of Seraiah. And at the time of the destruction
of Jerusalem by the Babylonian Empire, Seraiah was the High Priest at the
temple in Jerusalem. Seraiah was taken captive with his son, Jozadak, and then
exiled to Babylon. But Babylon had a practice of executing the high officials
of the lands that they conquered – and in this case that would include the High
Priest of the temple in Jerusalem. Seraiah was executed soon after father and
son reached the land that would be their new home. In a very short period of
time, Jozadak went from being the son of the High Priest living in Jerusalem to
being an orphan living with the exiles in Babylon. The rest of his life would
be spent within the Babylonian empire – Jozadak would never see the sights of
home ever again. It is hard to imagine a more stressful situation.
But Jozadak
was not alone. Jozadak would have a son, and his son’s name was Joshua. And
while Jozadak’s father was the last High
Priest of the temple in Jerusalem before the Babylonian Captivity, Jozadak’s
son Joshua was destined to be the first High Priest of the temple in Jerusalem
after the captives would finally return. And everything that Joshua would learn
about God and the formation of the character that would be required for the
position of High Priest would be learned from Jozadak in Babylon – in the midst
of all the stress that Jozadak suffered there.
Stress is
simply a part of life. And if the important lessons of life have to be learned
in the non-stressful moments, then they may never be learned – by us, or by the
eyes watching us.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1
Chronicles 7
"God's power works best when we are at our weakest" - can't remember what passage that is but it's one of my favourites
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