June 29: Wax On, Wax Off

2 Kings 15:1-16:20

Acts 19:13-41

Psalm 147:1-20

Proverbs 18:4-5f

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg21M2zwG9Q

Did you watch "Karate Kid"?  And not that newer one with Jackie Chan - no, the first one, with Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita.  Daniel asked Mr. Miyagi to teach him kung fu, so Mr. Miyagi had him wax his car, paint his fence and sand the floor.  The link above shows the instincts Daniel developed following Mr. Miyagi's training, instincts that governed his response when he would be attacked.  

Ahaz, King of Judah, developed different instincts.  We read that he "did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God". So when he was besieged by the kings of Aram and Israel, and defeat seemed imminent, his "wax on, wax off" response was to seek another's help.  He pleaded with the King of Assyria and, in doing so, exchanged surrender and enslavement to the kings of Aram and Israel for surrender and enslavement to the King of Assyria.  And he exchanged the practice of sacrifice at the alter of the Lord for sacrifice at an altar modeled after one in Damascus.  From bad to worse.  

The point is, the instincts we develop are the ones we are going to use when confronted with life's problems.  Some instincts are going to make things better - like Daniel-san's.  Some are going to make things worse - like Ahaz's.  Get into a fight with your spouse?  Some instincts lead you to seek comfort elsewhere, exacerbating the situation, maybe wind up in divorce, and hurting your kids.  From bad to worse.  

I'll tell you the instinct I want to develop: the instinct to praise God.  The one where my response to any situation, and especially any difficult situation, is to praise Him.  The psalmist is pretty direct: "Praise the Lord.  How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise Him!"  Where Ahaz's actions declared his dependence on the Assyrian king, praise declares our dependence on God.  Where Ahaz's surrender declared the Assyrian king's sovereignty over Ahaz's situation, our praise declares God's sovereignty over our decisions.  And where Ahaz's instinct drove him to mirror the Assyrian king, our praise of God will cause us to mirror His greatness to those who see us.

Father instill in us the instinct to respond rightly to all situations.  Teach us, in all situations, to praise You.