Encouragement

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TURNING BACK TO GOD

Bill is tired. He’s at the end of his typical day of board meetings, traffic jams, telemarketers during dinner, kids clamoring for attention and a beautiful wife that he never seems to spend as much time with as he’d like. Now, he’s laying in bed and has just turned off the light to spend some time with God. “Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be….z-z-z-z-z-z.” Bill? Bill, are you there?
Hmm, seems God came last in Bill’s day. Are we doing what God would want us to do? Are we where He wants us to be? Each of us, everyday, needs to make sure that we are where we need to be with God. We’re never all the way there until we reach heaven’s gates but we can strive towards grace daily. But what happens when we turn our backs on God? What happens when vain glories and material things of this world keep us from seeking the presence of our Lord or doing what He has commanded us to do?
Let’s take a look at a man and a group of people that did just that - turned their backs on God. Put your mouse down for a second and grab your Bible. Turn with me to the book of Genesis. We’re dealing God sending down His instructions to the peoples of the Earth following the Great Flood. Look at the first verse of chapter 9. It reads “and God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, ‘be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.’”
Now God had commanded the sons of Noah to replenish the Earth! He gave a set of instructions to go out into all the lands and set up shop. But next we see that just a few generations later, the Israelites are already turning their backs on God. Turn to chapter 11 and read it for yourself. Here they are, shortly after the flood and already ignoring God’s word. They knew the Lord had said to go out across the land and be fruitful and multiply. Instead, these people, headed by a rather pompous man named Nimrod, all traveled to the best and richest valley they could find and started to build a city. Now there’s nothing wrong with building a city or a house or a business. The problem is when what you are building becomes more important than the One who gave you the hammer to build it. Our post flood friends decided to build a city that would reach up unto heaven itself! Pretty vain if you ask me. Seems God thinks so too because He has a way of dealing with us when we start glorifying in ourselves. First, he will humble us to the very depths of our being. He destroyed the tower that was being built and changed their language so they had to scatter abroad and replenish the Earth. Wait a second! I’ve heard that before! He scattered them so they had to go and replenish the Earth. Seems that no matter how hard we try to keep from obeying Him, His will shall be done.
Last year, another tower fell down. It was, in fact, a twin tower. Now, I’m not saying that the fall of those towers and the awful tragedy was God’s work, but I am saying that when those towers fell, everyone in this country felt a little bit less like supermen and superwomen. Everyone in this country felt less vane and less like glorying in their own day by day achievements. Just as Nimrod and his city builders must have been confused and looking around for answers, America was left dazed and seeking a reason why. But, I know the answer that they were looking for and that all of us are looking for today. That answer is found in one name. Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. When it seems like troubles are closing in and there doesn’t seem to be way out call on His name. Jesus! We’ve seen what happens when men build towers to heaven. Stop putting the job first, turn off the TV, put the kids to bed early and spend sometime with our Lord. There is no tower that we can build that can ever meet all our needs. The only way to build a lasting tower is by turning back to God. For the name of the Lord is a strong tower, and the righteous run to it and are safe! (Prov. 8:10).

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