Pollution

It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart. Mark 7:15

I recently heard a speaker refer to our lovely country as paradise.  He lives in a large city in Asia where the pollution is shocking.  It's hard for most of us to even imagine the kind of pollution he spoke of but as  I remembeed back to our days in Hong Kong and the pollution that challenged us and the health of many people, I knew exactly what he was talking about.  Sometimes the pollution was very obvious and sometimes it was virtually unseen, but the meters that measured the pollution did not lie; it was there visible or not.

Jesus talked about pollution of another kind, the kind that pollutes our inner lives.  The religious people of his day followed many rules and regulations about foods and washing of vessels, hands etc but when they challenged Jesus about his disciples not adhering the the rules Jesus had more important things to discuss.  He told them that it's not what goes into a person's stomach that pollutes them as much as what resides in their heart or spirit.  James 4:1 speaks of problems among God's people..... What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? 

If things are not going right in our personal world it's time to look within and see what's going on inside of us. Sometimes God seems far away and that often happens because of inner pollution which grieves the Holy Spirit.  In his grace God is always wanting to bring us into a broader and richer place in our relationship with him,  but before this can happen we need to come into this uncomfortable place which will make us cry out to him.  A place where we become desperate and 'hungry' for his presence again.  

The Lord spoke these words through the prophet Hosea in chapter 2:14-15 which give us a glimpse into his way of process with us.....

...... I will lead her into the desert

and speak tenderly to her there.

 I will return her vineyards to her

and transform the Valley of Trouble 

into a gateway of hope.

She will give herself to me there.....

Often God will allow us to come into a desert place to get our attention.  He doesn't do it so he can 'give us a good talking to', he does it to get our heart.  He wants to speak tenderly to us and bring us into a broader place.  It is then that he transforms what seems to be our 'Valley of Trouble' into a gateway of hope.  It's in the valley of trouble that we see things that have been hidden in our heart that we need to repent of.  Things that have polluted our attitudes and drawn a veil between God and us.  Perhaps there will be things that need to be worked through to bring healing to our minds and hearts.  He knows that we often lose sight of him in the busyness of life but he wants to draw us back to him because it's only in his presence that we find fullness of joy.  Our Heavenly Lover wants our heart.

Father God, draw me back to yourself.  Speak your life-giving words to my heart that it might lean towards you and find joy in your presence again.  Amen.