Most of the times, when we are troubled we fail to look at the most important person who’ll give us the lasting solution. We are usually too much in haste that we desperately need the solution our own way and fast. Whenever God draws the solution a bit longer or if God’s solution to our problem is different from what we expect we rapidly switch to manmade solutions. These manmade solutions are usually very temporal and at times very catastrophic in the long run. God knows what is good for us and when which solution is good for us. So God is always very precise with the solution He provides for our problems, and the timings. No human being can do that because only God is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. God is capable of giving solutions to all our problems because He is omnipotent. He knows the correct remedy to our problems as He is all knowing and He can provide the correct timing since He is present in the past, in the present and in the future. God knows the kind of choices we will face tomorrow and He further knows what choice we shall chose from the choices. This is the subject of another article but I would like to let you know that God is not responsible for our choices even though He knows what we shall choose. He only knows that this is what we will decide to do but He cannot force us to do otherwise because God has given us free will. We are therefore responsible for what we chose from the alternatives we find in life and so God holds us responsible and judges us based on these choices. Knowing that God is capable to solve our problem now and for eternity, we are called upon to come to God who will give us everlasting consolation when we are grieved.
As seen earlier in our text, God is near to the broken hearted. God hears the cries of the righteous and delivers them out of all their troubles (Psalm 34:17);[The righteous] cried, and Jehovah heard, And delivered them out of all their troubles. This text says God hears and delivers the righteous from all troubles. It does not talk of the unrighteous and so we are called upon to come to God, have faith in God and our righteousness will give us a step to Gods protection. We cannot be asking for God’s provision or protection and giving our allegiance to someone else.
God said to the Israelites that they have made for themselves a broken cistern that can hold no water. Jer.2:13: For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. Many at times we have tend to man made ways to find peace and protection. But I tell you that none of these will give us satisfaction, peace or protection. We find people with shrines here and there, some moving with leather bags, some with handkerchiefs that were given by some ancestors or grand parents, some moving with rings, and others with carved gods made of wood. We think that these will make any difference. But none has any positive effect on our lives. It is just like what is seen in Jeremiah 2:13 where God was saying to the Israelites that they have forsaken him and made broken cisterns that can hold no water. Some of us have turned to drunkenness hoping that we will get away with our difficulties. Some have gone to drug addiction with the hope of surmounting their fears but know this today that they will all help to aggravate your condition. God is calling onto us today just as he did with the Israelites that we have forsaken Him and made for ourselves a broken cistern that can hold no water. Let us go back to God and get the satisfaction that last forever.
Do you know what a cistern is? It is a clay container that is used in containing water. Then a broken cistern would be of no use. Some years back when I was still very young our daily duty was to fetch firewood and to carry water from the stream (our popular mbohkfu in the village-Ndu). The mbohkfu was practically the only place where the inhabitants of Ndu were collecting potable water. Every evening we will have a full there each one fighting to get water. Some would leave the zone with wounds on the head or on their knees just to for water. One day I went there earlier to avoid the congestion but was unfortunate that I took a 20 liters rubber container that had a small hole at the bottom. When I filled the container, it started flowing off the container but I rapidly found a solution. I sealed the hole with a piece of soap which I took from the stream and I was happy that my little magic has worked. I was so sure that I had escaped the ill of coming back to the stream if I had to go and change the container. I took the water home with no problem placed the container in our kitchen. In our kitchen the cooking place was dug into the ground and three stones placed to make a tripod. I allowed the water container and went to the field to play with other friends. Gradually the water melted the soap and started flowing off onto the ground. No one was there to control it and it went into the fireplace and the whole kitchen was water. Coming back from the field, I had to go and carry more water else my mom will have nothing to wash with when she returns from the farm. After all I had no choice she will give me a lamp to go and bring water if I forget to do that else there will be no food since there is no water to prepare food with. My little magic failed me, and in addition I spoiled the fireplace. They had to remove all the soaked ashes before preparing new fire and the kitchen had to be cleaned. At the start in the stream I had the impression that it was working but it did not take long my little magic was catastrophic. This is the same thing that we face when we get to manmade ways and leave God behind. We think the magic or power is perfect, we think it will last but it does not last and it leads to destruction.
The first sin God is highlighting here is that they have forsaken him the fountain of living water. Secondly they have made for themselves BROKEN cisterns that can hold no water. That is manmade ways. We think that the leather bag or the wooden god will do us any help but God is telling us that this can do nothing. In fact it will destroy more just like the water I took into the house through my gallon. The first time we get them, we think they will help, we think we can rely on them; but in very little time we find the destruction caused by these. They are the plans of the devil.
To keep away from this we need the fresh anointing that comes from God. We have to overflow with the anointing and the word of God. God wants us to overflow so that when we are moving by the way and anything happens; the first thing that will come out of our mouth will be the word of God. The word of God should be in our blood.
The word of God and his anointing is light into our spirit. You know darkness and light cannot come together. When light appears darkness quits and there is no other way round. Jesus is our light as well; and when he pops up Satan disappears. Amen. We cannot have the anointing without Christ or God. We need a constant refilling from God so that we can also shine as the light of the world.
David was filled with the spirit and it was this anointing in the life of David that slew Goliath. After this David was anointed with fresh oil over the hands of Juda and over Israel (1Sam.16:3; 2Sam. 2:4;5:3). Why this? He was already anointed, but what he meant by this was that his anointing will be renewed. My relationship with God needs to be renewed. Constant renewal! We know oil use to lick. Engineers will say the oil has lost its viscosity.
The car whose engine is without oil or with bad oil easily knocks and the car will drive to a halt. The same thing is true with cooking oil. For those using red palm oil, you know that when it makes long it loses its quality. It cannot be used for cooking except we want to cook anything for the pigs if ever they will accept it. Good fresh oil is good for cooking just like fresh oil is good for the engine. We need constant refilling from God. In the same way God said His people have been misled from the mountain to hill. They have been misled from their resting place and so they no longer have rest. Jer 50:6 My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place. We today, we need to understand that God is our resting place, He is the one to give us rest, He will give us comfort; He is our consoler.
Do you know why many people say I want to die when they are in trouble? Because they do not have the fresh anointing from God. God says in any pain thank Him and come on to Him because He is near to the broken hearted. We need constant renewal from God.
Extract from the book Bereavement: The christian attitude. By Njini Hans
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