Looking Unto the Maker
“And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate. And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest. Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool. And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall. Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.”
In this passage, we see Jerusalem preparing for an upcoming battle. Knowing the enemy would soon be upon them, they did everything they could think of to build up their defenses. They sealed up the breaches. They gathered together water so they could have nourishment within the walls of safety. They even broke down their houses so they could use the materials to build up and repair the city walls. Yes, it seems like they had everything in hand, like they were doing a good work. But they left out the most important thing, and truthfully, the only thing that mattered at this point—they forgot to look to their Maker.
The reason they were under attack in the first place was that they had turned their backs on God. God was using tribulation to draw them back to Him, but instead, they turned to their own plans and remedies. Unfortunately, I can relate to that part.
Often, when faced with difficulty, I set about “fixing” the problem myself. I create a plan, draw out the steps, assess the issue from various angles, and prepare for battle. But through it all, I, too, forget the most important thing of all—looking to my Maker. He is the ultimate Craftsman. He knows all things, so who better to seek counsel from? But, no, in my pride, I go it alone. . .and I fail!
When we fail to seek God in our lives, not only is it a sure-fire way to trouble, it’s a show of disrespect. In a sense, we’re saying we don’t need Him, that we can handle things on our own. We’re refusing His offer of help and belittling His ability to do what we can’t. In short, it’s a slap in God’s face.
God longs to help His children. Over and over again in the Bible, He urges us to call on Him. Will we do that, or will we insist—like the people of Jerusalem—to forsake our Maker and try to solve our problems on our own? I’ll tell you this: it didn’t work out so well for Jerusalem, and it won’t work out well for us either. Let’s trust God with our problems and leave our security in His hands. He’s much better suited for the job than we are.
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.”