“I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord (Amos 4:11 NIV).
What greater mercy can God show you than let you escape from His judgment? Others were taken away when He struck. You too were caught in it. Yet for reasons unknown God spared you.
It was exactly like snatching a burning stick from the fire. Such a stick will bear the marks of the burning. God spared you so that you will know your utter helplessness in the face of His judgment. He spared you to give you another chance to repent.
But have you done so? Is the Lord’s complaint against you be, “Yet you have not returned to me!” Then think about your present situation. Are you still trying to live the way you did so earlier, comforting yourself with the thought that you were spared and therefore will be spared again.
Things in the future may not happen that way. The next judgment might strike anytime. Then you may not be snatched out of the fire as it was done for you last time.
So you need to heed what God is expecting of you. He spared you and saved you to give you yet another chance to return to Him.
Think of His abiding love for you. That is the reason why He snatched you out of the judgment that fell on you. His great aim is to have your attention on His love for you. Think on this. And make an honest effort to respond to His love.
Do not delay. For you may not know for how long God shall delay in sending judgment again. Remember He can overthrow like He overthrew the two sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
You need to learn that God can spare too as He had done for you. But He may not be snatching you from the fire at all times. So return to your God.
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