Day 34 - Nahum

2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;



the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.


The Lord takes vengeance on his foes


and vents his wrath against his enemies.


3 The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;


the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.


His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,


and clouds are the dust of his feet.


4 He rebukes the sea and dries it up;


he makes all the rivers run dry.


Bashan and Carmel wither


and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.


5 The mountains quake before him


and the hills melt away.


The earth trembles at his presence,


the world and all who live in it.


6 Who can withstand his indignation?


Who can endure his fierce anger?


His wrath is poured out like fire;


the rocks are shattered before him.

7 The Lord is good,


a refuge in times of trouble.


He cares for those who trust in him,


8 but with an overwhelming flood


he will make an end of Nineveh;


he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness. (Nahum 1:2-8)

Dont.  Mess.  With.  God.  Part of the role of the some of the prophets is to remind of just that.  Don't.  Mess.  With.  God.  He means business.  God is serious.  There's no other way around it.  This passage has that glimmer of hope, reminding us that 'The Lord is good,' but mostly it's a diatribe against Ninevah and it's people, who have been godless and rebellious.

We need reminding from time to time that this is really serious.  Our matters of faith aren't just personal  and emotional, they are part of God's grand design.  There are ramifications for not following Him.  This is real.  This isn't high school.  This.  Is.  Real.  God is powerful.  This is the God who made the heavens and the earth.  This is the God who formed the sun out of his own hand.  This is the God who makes the mountains quake at the sound of His voice.  And this God does not take being ignored so well.  He can, and does, get angry.  And when we does, we can't stand it, literally.

The cool thing is that we know that God cares for those who trust in Him.  It's that simple.  Just trust in Him and not all the other stuff life offers up for our trust.  And we know we can trust Him because He's proven His love for us in Jesus Christ.  But we have a choice.  We don't HAVE to choose Him.  We don't HAVE to trust Him.  We can 'go our own way' as the song goes.  But know that if you do, this is serious because our God is a serious, big and powerful God.