“… . And Judah was carried away into exile to Babylon for their unfaithfulness.”

– 1 Chronicles 9:1b

We are a most fickle people. We make grand declarations of thankfulness and (sometimes obnoxious) vows of loyalty to the Lord with no follow through. Truly, there’s no miracle cell hidden in the back corners of our human DNA waiting to evolve into greatness through a single spark of our own ambition or human ingenuity. We are a helpless people, easily carried away by the cares and longings of the world and our own sinful hearts.

By way of example, let’s say you are floating out at sea and have been given instructions to stay by the lighthouse. You soon find that you have drifted away quickly for want of pulling anchor. With but a single night’s closing of the eyes and resting of the heart, you look up and find that you are miles from where you were instructed to stay, wondering “How did I get here?” How many times have you looked around in your own Christian walk and found that you are far from where the Lord would have you to be? I’m sure it was much the same for Judah/Israel of old. Carried away into slavery … again. And Christians, those precious souls who truly love the Lord, drift off and are carried away into slavery to sin every day because they won’t pull anchor, throwing the weight of their life and heart onto the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on Calvary. It would do us all well to take thought for how truly weak and unable we are, coming to Him today in complete dependence, asking that His ‘staying power’ be lived out in our stead. He is able.

In the dust of His feet,

Sunni Hoffman