Follow God Today!

06 May Follow God Today!

Read 2 Chronicles 34:1-13 (NLT)
Thought for the Day: No matter what others do, I can follow God!

It seemed like Josiah had been set up to fail from the start. Both his father (Amon) and grandfather (Manasseh) had ruled as King of Judah – but each of their reigns had been marred by unfaithfulness to God. Josiah’s father’s reign was so chaotic that he was murdered in a coup by his own servants. But, the coup failed and the conspirators were brought to justice. With no one left fit to govern, the people turned to an unlikely new ruler: a little 8-year-old boy named Josiah.

Seemingly against all odds, Josiah broke his family’s dysfunctional cycle. In his teens, Josiah came to personal faith in God and this led him to take direct action. He personally traveled throughout Judah to remove the idols both his father and grandfather had allowed. Once he had finished, Josiah led an effort to repair the house of the Lord where a lost Book of the Law was found. After listening, Josiah was deeply moved: “Go to the Temple and speak to the Lord for me and for all the remnant of Israel and Judah. Inquire about the words written in the scroll that has been found… We have not been doing everything this scroll says we must do.” Rather than giving up and reverting to his family’s old ways, Josiah knew that, no matter what others had done before him, he could obey the teachings of Scripture!

Throughout our lives, we face our own Josiah Moments where we must choose one of two paths. Do we continue down dysfunctional cycles or do we listen to God? The lesson of Josiah is clear – it is impossible to simultaneously continue a dysfunctional cycle and faithfully serve God. While at first, this may seem like a daunting truth, it is actually quite freeing. Since we can’t do both, we must each make a choice. When we choose, let’s remember that no matter what anyone else does (or has done before us), we can choose to live faithfully!

In Christ,
Pastors Stan and David