Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“So he poured upon him the heat of his anger and the fury of war; it set him on fire all around, but he did not understand; it burned him, but he did not take it to heart.”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, December 13, 2022
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Sometimes we are our own worst enemies. When things go horribly sideways it can be easy to wonder what we’ve done to deserve it, as if bad things happen as a punishment. That was the mindset in Isaiah’s time. The Israelite people were in a bad way and the prophet told them it was because they were disobedient to God and God caused them to be overtaken. I personally don’t believe God works like that, but I do believe we ourselves have a definite role to play in creating our own pain.
This last verse stood out to me. God has made it abundantly clear that God is not pleased with the people—causing terrible things “the heat of anger and the fury of war” to descend upon them. But the people still do not get it. They get burned by the heat and seem to have no idea that they’ve caused it.
Let me be clear that there are plenty of tragic things in our lives over which we have absolutely no control—this is not what I’m talking about here. I’m talking about the decisions we make every day in our interactions with other people, in our choices about all manner of things that blow up in our faces, and which are entirely preventable.
Some of the greatest gifts I’ve received from my recovery work are the tools I use to look with complete honesty about my part in any given situation and identify where my own fear, resentment, ego, and selfishness have led to the difficulties I’m experiencing. It helps me to see where I’m being “burned,” “take it to heart,” and step away from the fire.
As we head into a season often filled with family strife, it’s good to recognize that we have the agency to either contribute to that strife or choose not to participate in it. May God help us to read the signs and take them to heart.
When have my choices led to negative outcomes that felt like punishment?