The Remnant: God's Perfect Number

2Ki 19:30-34 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.  For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this. Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.  By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.  For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

According to WEBSTER’S 1828 dictionary:  REM'NANT, n. contracted from remanent.

1. Residue; that which is left after the separation, removal or destruction of a part. The remnant that are left of the captivity. Neh. 1.
2. That which remains after a part is done, performed, told or passed.

Trusting God and being faithful to His way, goes a long, long way to Him and He doesn’t need a huge army to prove His people can defeat the enemy. As you get to know God more while reading the scriptures you will see that He actually delights in smaller numbers than the whole. If you want to delight in Him, do a study on the word “remnant” and you’ll get a kick out of our Mighty God! He is awesome. I’m glad He loves the remnant, aren’t you? These verses are so packed with the ever loving character of our God.

The cutest young lad sat across from me with his mom and dad staring at me, waiting for my response to their question, “Should we retain our son or should we allow him to move on to the next grade?”

All kinds of thoughts flow through our minds when deciding such a major next step in a young person’s life and without the Word of God, I just couldn’t do it, and WOULDN’T do it. Too much depends on such a decision. With experience comes wisdom but only with the eyes of God and leading of His Holy Spirit. I knew it would be best for the child to repeat, but I had to make sure the parents were on board.  I placed a pencil on the table between the child and me and explained that most children in their minds will travel from point A to point B, but every now and then, a child may choose to go from A, swing to the right and back over to the path taking longer to get to point B, and we needed time to figure out why that was happening. I smiled at the young man and he smiled back. Such a creation of God! We should never forget that we are created by God for His purpose. This young man had a DISability but through some extra time we would help him find HIS ability to overcome as much as God would allow.

I’m not saying that we who are of the remnant have a disability, but I am saying that at times, it appears to us that we are disabled. God is in control even when everyone else seems to flow from point A to point B but here we are struggling with a swing to the right! Don’t be quick to judge what God is doing. He needs, desires for the glory to be His. HIS WAY is perfect! Only the remnant will be used to the potential and in the end will say, “To God be the Glory, for great things HE hath done.”
May I ask you, are you part of this remnant staying true to the fundamentals of the faith or have you drifted off in a turn that has taken you to self-sufficiency and to “I can do all things without Christ” mentality?  I fear that too many good Christians have detoured in the opposite direction and joined the world’s way to prosperity.

It is time for a change. As women, we need to look at what we do and why we do it and then, measure it against the Word of God. If you are trapped in a situation, talk to God and be honest with Him. Allow Him to take you from point A to point B. It may take a detour and much time before you get to point B, but you must try.  Go back and read II Kings 19. Don’t get hung up on too much information but grab the remnant!

God’s people in II Kings 19 were His remnant.  Their prosperity is described as “taking root downward and bearing fruit upward”…..and isn’t that what we fight for? That security in Christ to feel rooted, grounded in His Word can be ours, today. Just like the small lad who smiled at me, he already knew before his mom and dad that I was there to help him overcome and so does our God look at us waiting for us to look back at Him, smiling, totally trusting Him!

Lord, help us to desire your way and become part of your remnant.

Until next time, Lord willing…

Sharon