GOD’S DISCIPLINE IS NOT REJECTION –

Some of the saddest times in the history of Israel occurred when foreign armies invaded and attempted to destroy everything sacred to them. Shishak from Egypt; Sennacherib from Assyria; and Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon were all heathen kings who did not respect the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The sons of Asaph who served in the temple were affected most of all, because it put them to shame and left their ministry in shambles. But they never lost hope that their dedication to the mission given them would prompt God to spare them and restore them so they could do His will. They realized that even though they lost a battle, the war was not lost forever.

“O Shepherd of Israel, the One who tends His children like a flock; who sits enthroned between the angels; let everyone around us see that you are leading us by displaying Your power by which we are saved. O One True God, take us back; let us feel Your blessed assurance of salvation. O LORD Eternal, the One True God of Heaven’s Army, don’t let the prayers of Your people go unanswered because they angered You. You’ve filled our plates with bread made from tears, and filled our bowls with tears to drink; it turned our neighbors against us so they mock us behind our backs. O One True God of Heaven’s Army, take us back; let us once again feel that blessed assurance that we will be delivered. Be ours again, O One True God; look down on us with compassion. You put us here; You made us what we are. We’ve been hurt; the pain of your rebuke is like fire. So signal the anointed One next to You; the Son You chose; to keep us from straying again. Yes, revive us again so we can lift You up in praise. O One True God, take us back; let us feel Your blessed assurance of salvation.” Psalm 80:1-7, 14-18

Reflection: In the 1970’s, a distraught, hostile man slipped into St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome, and with a hammer began smashing Michelangelo’s beautiful sculpture, The Pieta. In 1990 an angry man rushed through the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam, Holland, ran up to Rembrandt’s famous painting Nightwatch, and began dousing it with acid. What did the curators do in response to the damage done to these two cherished works of art? Did they throw them away and forget about them? Absolutely not! Using the finest experts, who worked with the utmost care and precision, they made sure that every effort was made to restore these priceless treasures. My mother use to sing this song so beautifully, that it always left me with tears in my eyes, because it reminded me of my own life. It is called:

“The Brush.”

Life started out like a canvas, and God started painting on me,
But I took the paintbrush from Jesus, and painted what I wished to see.
The colors I painted kept running, and the objects were all out of size,
I had made a mess of my painting; my way now seemed so unwise.

Then I gave my painting to Jesus, all the colors, all the pieces so wrong.
In the markets of earth it was worthless, but His blood made my painting belong.
He worked with no condemnation; He never mentioned the mess I had made.
Then He dipped His brush in the rainbow, and signed it, the price has been paid.

When I gave the brush back to Jesus, when I gave the brush back to Him,
He started all over life’s canvas to fill, when I gave to Jesus the brush of my will.

(A low vocal demo can be heard at this link): http://music.christwill.com/accompaniment-tracks/the-brush-127152.html

God’s children are a precious treasure to Him, and the Psalmist believed that their heavenly Father would repair any damage done by disrespectful and godless people, and restore them to their rightful place as one of His masterpieces. He acknowledged that sometimes His beloved were careless and did not esteem all that He had done for them. Nevertheless, just like the art curators, He will work to put back together those things in our lives that have been marred due to carelessness or attacks by others who do not respect what God has done in our lives.