Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Philippians 2:3.

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will freely pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:6-9.

And our chapter, Amos 6, continues with a warning to those who are complacent and filled with pride. We may think we are better than others here in this life and thus secure, but remember the warning given to the church in Laodicea given in Revelation 3:17-20…“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not know that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy gold from Me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with Me.” We can’t see without the help of Creator God who gives life-affirming instruction. Back to Amos: Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, for whom the people of Israel come! Go to Kalneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours? You put off the day of disaster and bring near a reign of terror. You lie on beds adorned with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end. v. 1-7. They didn’t mourn the awful conditions in their own land because they thought they were secure and had everything they needed…but Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, mourned. He cares. The Sovereign Lord has sworn by Himself – the Lord God Almighty declares: “I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it. If ten people are left in one house, they too will die. And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on and say, “Hush! We must not mention the name of the Lord.” For the Lord has given the command, and He will smash the great house into pieces and the small house into bits. Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness – you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar and say, “Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?” For the Lord God Almighty declares, “I will stir up a nation against you, Israel, that will oppress you all the way from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah.” v. 8-14.

Why read these warnings in Scripture when they happened to a people long dead? Can we truly not see the parallels to our own lives lived in this time here and now? There is a difference to a life lived knowing and being led by Creator God and a life lived trusting in its own strength and understanding. The life Creator God longs for us to live looks nothing like the life lived in this broken world broken by our own actions. Do you long for something better? Do you truly think our life after death will include the hate, wars, violence, indifference to suffering we see today in this world broken by those very sins? Count it all joy when you receive correction from Creator God. He is showing you a better way for your life lived now and for good always. Like a refreshing breeze is God’s truth bringing Life lived with Him. We don’t despair because of the problems we see in this world…but we do mourn… and we turn to Creator God and ask for His help for everyone hurting and broken now. And as we do that, as we turn to Him, we can let go of our planning what God will do as though we have any insight. No one expected the ways Creator God would act in Scripture. That’s why they had such a hard time believing what was. I don’t want to disbelieve when God does something I don’t expect. I want to trust Him for everything! How can I do that then – if I don’t walk with Him now? Do you trust Go? Will you be able to trust Him when He acts in a way you don’t personally expect or understand? Looking at our world today, do you trust this world? I don’t. I trust Creator God who tells me, Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person and they with Me.