No Other Way Than Woeful
Rise and Shine for Jesus! \O/
By Pam Iannello - my late mother
Can I interest any of you in some woe today? That's right, I said "woe". Woe is defined as sorrow, great distress,
calamity, affliction, and grief. Not interested, you say? Then why do you think it is that people often
feel there is security to be gained outside of God? Yes, even Christians…
Isaiah
30:1 (KJV)
Woe
to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me;
and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to
sin.
It was often the fault and folly of the Jews that when they were
troubled they sought help, counsel, and guidance from others instead of looking
up to God. Times have not changed much,
for it is often our fault and folly as well!
Men have always been prone to leaning unto their own understandings, yet
according to this verse, what is the end result? Adding sin to sin! What a mess we make of things when we don't
go to the Lord first and foremost in our lives!
What woe can only result from such poor choices. We literally choose
misery for ourselves over the counsel of the Lord. Why?
Because we aren't willing to sit at His feet or quietly submit to God’s
perfect will; we are reluctant to rest in the Lord and His goodness to safely
guide us.
Isaiah
65:2 (KJV)
I have spread out my hands all the day unto
a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own
thoughts;
What cover are you covering with today, dear lady? Is it the
Lord's Spirit, His counsel? I was
convicted of this matter today and asked the Lord to show me those places in my
heart that are covered with the WRONG covering - my own understanding or
thoughts about my sin – and not His Spirit, His way of looking at it. You see, if I don't see my sin through the
Lord's eyes, I will just add more to the sin that is already there! This can only end up in a woeful life for
me….
Consider Adam and Eve for a moment. When their eyes were opened to their sin
(their rebellion toward God) they sewed fig leaves together to cover
themselves. That was the wrong covering,
amen? That was their thinking of
how to fix the situation and it was a covering of self-effort. Such action could only result in them adding
sin to an already sinful situation. Many
fig leaves would be needed to cover such a multitude of sins…
Genesis 3:16-24 (KJV)
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly MULTIPLY THY SORROW
and thy conception; IN SORROW thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire
shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. [17] And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast
hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I
commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: CURSED IS THE GROUND for thy sake; IN SORROW SHALT THOU EAT
of it all the days of thy life; [18]
THORNS ALSO AND THISTLES shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the
herb of the field; [19] In the SWEAT OF
THY FACE shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it
wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. [20] And Adam called his wife's name Eve;
because she was the mother of all living.
[21] Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of
skins, and clothed them. [22] And the
Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil:
and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and
eat, and live for ever: [23] Therefore
the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from
whence he was taken. [24] So he DROVE
OUT THE MAN; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a
flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Though this is a very familiar text, I think it's important to
read this portion of scripture from time to time to remind us of the woe that
Adam and Eve suffered from forsaking the Lord's counsel in their lives, the
fruit of their own rebellion. There are
some today who think "rebellion" is a harsh word, but ladies, it is a
Bible word! We must get back to
using the Lord's definition for our behavior, amen? It is REBELLION when we turn away from
heeding God's Word. Be certain that
you are taking counsel of the Lord in order to prevent woe from coming into
your life... Psalm 91 is a wonderful
picture of those who would seek to trust in God rather than take confidence in
themselves and live rebelliously.
Isaiah
30:2 (KJV)
That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my
mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the
shadow of Egypt!
Imagine this scene… Your
house is located on a hill. Right next door to you is a humble abode where
lives God. A few doors down at the
bottom of the hill lives Pharoah who knows not God, but he sure has lots of
informative books in the library of his big, fancy house and he himself has big
muscles and appears to be successful. He
even has access to many soldiers that could protect you. His house seems to be the most popular in the
neighborhood, so you decide that with the recent trial in your life this is the
best and fastest way to seek help. But
in order to get there, you have to pass right by God's throne, the One who
knows all. You package up your trust for the brief excursion and hurriedly walk
by, not even bothering to say one word about your situation to God at all. You
don't even lift your eyes in His direction either, for you are focused down
below on Egypt. Upon arrival, you
promptly and confidently deposit all your trust right onto the front porch of
Pharaoh’s house. Ladies, this is a picture of a prayerless life headed straight
for woe to those who, "have not asked at my mouth" - the very mouth
of God!
Isaiah
31:1 (KJV)
Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on
horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because
they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither
seek the Lord!
Seeking alliance with certain individuals in order to guarantee
self-protection is vain… Men who forsake
God to follow their carnal confidences run into great dangers! I wonder how many of us are guilty of
bypassing the Lord, shirking access to His throne, the all-knowing, all wise,
all loving God who saved us, and taking the downward direction of seeking the
counsel of Egypt. God's people are frequently guilty of trying to figure their lives
out apart from prayer and without their Father’s counsel! In our pride, we foolishly think that there
is security to be gained outside of the Lord.
The Bible clearly states this approach is not of God's Spirit. In fact,
the result is found in verse 3 of Isaiah 30:
Therefore
shall the strength of Pharaoh shall be your shame, and to trust in the shadow
of Egypt your confusion.
Shame and confusion and woe - all experienced apart from God! Stop and think about it… Is that what you really want in life?? You see ladies, there is no shame when you
take the time to seek God or godly counsel and there is no confusion
whatsoever! Neither is there any woe. Instead, we find direction, peace, and
healing for our lives! It's our choice
though - are you certain you are making the right one?
2
Chronicles 7:14 (KJV)
If my
people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek
my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and
will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Psalm
71:1 (KJV)
In
thee O Lord, do I put my trust: let me
never be put to confusion.
So dear lady, are you experiencing any woe in your life these
days? Could it be it's because you never sought the Lord's counsel in the
matter to begin with?? Do you have a
habit of bypassing God and going elsewhere for assistance? There are many women whose lives are full of
insecurities because of this very reason.
I hope that those of us who have found refuge in seeking the counsel of
the Lord will be faithful in our counsel to others in the midst of their
woes. We need to inform people of the
reason for their troubles, amen? Sin
added to sin... Teach folks to place their sense of security in the Lord - but
not before you make sure you are doing it yourself! Life cannot end up any other way than woeful
when God is left out.
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
Revised 2004
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