The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"To and Fro"
"And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it" (Job 1:7).
"When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out" (Luke 11:24).
Our spiritual enemies tempt us to a restless discontent because they are themselves plagued by a longing to find a contentment unavailable to them due to their rebellion against God. Satan originated the dissatisfaction by refusing to be the Light-bearer he existed to be. "I will be like the Most High" boasted the devil in his vain attempt to grasp a place to which he could never attain (Isaiah 14:14). Thus, our enemy and those who followed him in rebellion seek a contentment they will never find as they walk "to and fro," and as they tempt us by their deception.
A restless heart belies failure to to know the only contentment available to any conscious being, be it angelic or human. "He is thy life" declared Moses to wayward and wandering Israel (Deuteronomy 30:20). The echoes of such blessedness ring through the ages, accentuated profoundly by the Lord Jesus Christ and His New Testament apostles who bear witness to the contentment found only in Him. Paul stated the truth most directly: "To live is Christ… Christ is our life" (Philippians 1:21; Colossians 3:4). Note the Apostle wrote these affirmations from a Roman prison, confirming all the more that a resting heart has nothing to do with circumstance, and everything to do with trusting confidence and consecration to God. "Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee" (Psalm 116:7).
We could lose everything, but if God remains as the Life of our lives and the vital content of our heart, we will have lost nothing. The flesh of even most devoted believer chafes at such truth (Galatians 5:17). However, deeply within the hearts of all Christians, the Spirit of God beckons us to "return unto thy rest" if we have wandered, and to repose there if we presently affirm the truth that ends our "to and fro" quest for tranquility of spirit. Recognizing discontent as the temptation of spiritual enemies who are themselves plagued by restlessness will go far in leading us to arise in faith - "Thou art my portion, o Lord" - and rest in peace (Psalm 119:57). God made our hearts to be His habitation. Nothing and no one else can occupy His place as the Life of our lives. We will be sorely tempted by miserable and discontented foes to believe otherwise. Let us overcome their temptations by faith, affirming with Paul…
"I have learned in whatsoever state I am in, therewith to be content."
(Philippians 4:11)
"There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God."
(Hebrews 4:9)
Weekly Memory Verse
The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge.
(Psalm 46:7)
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