Life Without God Is A Hopeless End
The people of the half-tribe of Manasseh were numerous; they settled in the land from Bashan to Baal Hermon…
These were the heads of their families: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah and Jahdiel. They were brave warriors, famous men, and heads of their families. But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.
So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is,Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria), who took the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan, where they are to this day. I Chronicles 5:23-26
These were the heads of their families: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah and Jahdiel. They were brave warriors, famous men, and heads of their families. But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.
So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is,Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria), who took the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan, where they are to this day. I Chronicles 5:23-26
One of the saddest things in life is to watch a person fall from "grace to grass." It usually happens after a person has acquired either much wealth or fame or some form of prosperity. Unless the person is very humble, there is always the temptation to be blinded by the success attained and become rather proud at heart. Pride usually leads to one's downfall.
Every breath and ability we have is purely by the grace of God. We cannot presume on anything. In fact, the Bible admonishes concerning our future plans: Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow, we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make some money." Why you don't even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." (James 4:13-15).
All that we are and all that we ever hope to be is purely a gift from God! It is only grace and grace alone.
We are always on very dangerous grounds when we turn our backs on the God of all grace. That is what the half-tribe of Manasseh did. Their prosperity caused them to forget about God: "They were brave warriors, famous men...but they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors...So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria who took the Reubenites...into exile." They forgot that the source of their greatness and prosperity was God. The result was that God removed His protection over them and they ended up decimated in exile. Life without God proved to be a rather hopeless end.
Unfortunately, this is a lesson humanity never seems to learn. The temptation for us to become proud and forget God when we experience prosperity is a real one. When things are on the upswing, we tend to forget that we function purely under grace. We can become boastful and even arrogant. The things of God no longer have any strong importance to us and our relationship with God is neglected. In the end, we are deceived and destroyed because we abandoned God. Life without God is definitely a hopeless end. Don't forget your God!
Every breath and ability we have is purely by the grace of God. We cannot presume on anything. In fact, the Bible admonishes concerning our future plans: Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow, we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make some money." Why you don't even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." (James 4:13-15).
All that we are and all that we ever hope to be is purely a gift from God! It is only grace and grace alone.
We are always on very dangerous grounds when we turn our backs on the God of all grace. That is what the half-tribe of Manasseh did. Their prosperity caused them to forget about God: "They were brave warriors, famous men...but they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors...So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria who took the Reubenites...into exile." They forgot that the source of their greatness and prosperity was God. The result was that God removed His protection over them and they ended up decimated in exile. Life without God proved to be a rather hopeless end.
Unfortunately, this is a lesson humanity never seems to learn. The temptation for us to become proud and forget God when we experience prosperity is a real one. When things are on the upswing, we tend to forget that we function purely under grace. We can become boastful and even arrogant. The things of God no longer have any strong importance to us and our relationship with God is neglected. In the end, we are deceived and destroyed because we abandoned God. Life without God is definitely a hopeless end. Don't forget your God!
Prayer: Father, I thank you for all the blessings that you have so graciously bestowed upon my life. Please help me never to forget that you are the source of all that I am. Help me to remain humble and dependent upon you at all times. Amen.