Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you are verbally attacking someone, but at the same time totally aware that it has nothing to do with them? Oh, I'm not talking about the kind of moments where we've had a bad day and so we yell at our dog (or our kids). I'm thinking more about moments like this.
The other day, I was tinkering on some project in our garage while the kids were playing out in the cul-de-sac. We live in a neighborhood with lots of other young children, and in general this makes for good times with lots of playmates. But some of these children have, shall we say, less than involved parents in their lives. The behavior they exhibit would suggest they live with very few, if any, boundaries.
So on this day, I watch my three-year old daughter Maddie playing happily with her tricycle, wheeling her doll around the circle. At one point, she drops the doll, and so gets off the trike to go back and pick it up. In that nano-second, one of these aforementioned children runs over and jumps on her toy. In that moment, I feel something rising up within me. I feel some righteous indignation on behalf of my daughter and so I rushed out to her defense. No, I didn't yell or lose my cool, but in one of those very stern voices that only fathers can produce, I instructed this boy that this was not okay. I told him that he was being rude and not respecting the property or the feelings of others.
But the whole time I'm having this one-sided conversation (maybe 30 seconds at most), I realize in the back of my mind that this has nothing to do with the neighbor boy. I honestly don't see it as my role to parent him or teach him right and wrong. This whole scene is occurring because I want my daughter to see her dad coming to her rescue and caring for her by defending her from others.
By now you may be asking yourself, "What in the Sam Hill does this have to do with Obadiah?" You see, the book of Obadiah is exactly the same way. Most of this amazingly short book deals with a prophecy against the nation of Edom, the descendants of Esau and thus relatives of Israel. God has some pretty dire warnings for them, but I can't help but think that these words were never intended to actually reach Edom.
No, these words were for Israel. This is God sticking up for His kids. It appears that Obadiah is written shortly after the downfall of Jerusalem and the resulting exile of her people. The Jews are taken to a distant land and must find themselves wondering if God has deserted them. Obadiah's message was God's way of saying, "I have seen everything they did to you and I will pay them back. Not only that, but I will rescue you and bring you home once more. Trust me to do this."
So, wherever you find yourself today, I pray that you will know the God who rushes to your defense. A God who sees the unfair blows life has leveled against you and promises to make things right again. We may not be able to see how that could ever happen, but God continues to work His good plan in your life because that's the kind of God He is. A God who is always sticking up for you, His kid.
Journey with Him today-
Nick
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