July 22nd

July 22^nd

The Book of Nahum

After reading today's reading, I wanted to find out a little more about Nahum the person instead of his prophecy, because I always feel like I'm writing the same thing: God can show His wrath but still be a loving and caring God if you would just accept Him into your heart. So instead, I Googled Nahum and the first thing that showed up was that his name means "comfort" or "consolation." At first I thought it was pretty ironic, a man who's name means "comfort" describing gruesome scenes of destruction in such detail that when I pictured it in my head I actually winced, although I did appreciate his prose. But then I thought a little deeper and figured that it was actually a perfect name for him, because while his prophecy predicted a fall for Nineveh, that fall meant "comfort" and "consolation" for all that Nineveh oppressed.

Then after coming to that conclusion, I forgot about looking into Nahum and his life and continued my train of thought down the track that got me thinking about the people oppressed by Nineveh. These people did not have a good time. It says in the reading that these people would be tortured, some boiled in tar and others skinned alive. I know I wouldn't be strong enough to endure even a minute of either without my psyche cracking, let alone the agonizing physical pain. And even when they weren't being outright tortured, it's not like Nineveh was good to them. Their people suffered, even though they were with God. I empathized with them.

We can all relate to the troubles of these people because we ourselves all have troubles of our own. I wont lie to you, a lot of the time I wonder if sometimes God is giving me too much responsibility, or maybe He is overestimating my strength (or more pressingly, my patience). God believed in these people. He allowed their troubles because He knew that they would endure, and then when it became too much, He intervened. He does the same for us, whether we realize it or not. Yes, He sees when we suffer, but if He made all of our lives walks in the park, we could never appreciate anything because it wouldn't occur to us to do so. And when our suffering becomes too much, He does send help. Now, this help is not nearly as dramatic as the battle scenes described in today's reading, but instead it comes in a variety of subtle ways, and I'm sure if you looked into what was going on around you towards the end of your lowest point in life you'll be able to recognize God's movements in your life. And if you are at an extreme low right now, do your best to push through, and have faith that God will send you a little help too.

Hope you all had a wonderful Sunday!!

Gina :)