The Hand that Smites II

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again [depend] upon [Assyria]; but shall [depend] upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth." Isaiah 10:20

This is to be the result of the smiting of God: a solemn return to sole dependency on God. Israel once looked to Assyria for help. Now they will go back to the true source of all help: the Holy One of Israel.

Too many of us think that God smacks us upside the head because He wants us to fix something we did wrong. You have no such power in you to fix anything. God smacks you upside the head so that He can fix you. The true problem is not what you did wrong, but what went wrong inside you that led to the wrong that you did. When He smites, return to Him so that He may correct you. Let all else go, including your desire to fix it yourself.

The devil would have you turn to self-pity. God smacks you and you collapse into a quivering pile of wimp jelly, constantly blubbering something about how "wrong" you are, or "bad," or "sinful," or whatever. You are completely on the wrong track. Self-pity is self-focused, and therefore it is a form of pride. God does not want to hear how wrong you are. He knows how wrong you are; that's why He smacked you in the first place! He wants you to return so He can fix what's wrong.

The prodigal son had a speech prepared upon his return, but his father would not let him finish it (Luke 15:17-24). Job answered God by confessing his sinfulness, but God was not satisfied with that answer (Job 40:1-7). Repentance is not stating what you've done; that is confession, which is step one. Repentance is step two, and it is simply returning to God. May His blessing and smiting draw us closer to Him.