Monday, September 11, 2017

Blaming God

Monday, September 11, 2017
I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there?  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!  He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.  Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.  The Lord himself watches over you!  The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.  The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.  The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you  as you come and go, both now and forever.  Psalm 121:1-8(NLT)                                       
It is reassuring, affirming and a big warm, fuzzy to read this passage of Scripture – when the sun is shining and all is well in Zion!  But it’s hard to reconcile all those promises that seem so definite in Scripture when life starts coming apart.
·       My help comes
·       He will not let you stumble
·       The Lord himself watches over you
·       The Lord stands beside you
·       The sun will NOT harm you
·       The Lord keeps you from ALL harm
·       Both now and forever
Where is all this up close and personal care, protection and rubbing your back when the doctor says cancer, or the lawyer says it’s over, or the accountant suggests bankruptcy?
I’ve often stated and re-stated that these devotionals are written when I first get up in the morning – the very early morning!  My devotional life includes some hairy questions, questions surrounded by fog and wonder.  Some of that wonder is like yours:  if God made all those promises, how come life stinks sometimes?
There are several tested and true answers with which we can hold at bay our very human tendency to blame God for whatever’s going on.
1.     Sometimes we all want to blame God for the mess we create.  God never promised anything He will not perform.  He also never promised to take away all the consequences of our sinful actions.
2.     Sometimes we all read Scripture upside down.  For instance, a promise to stand beside you and watch over you tells us there are troubles; it doesn’t mean you are exempt from going through the valley of the shadow of death.  The real promise is that, if you trust Him you’ve got the best friend you could have who will see you through to the other side of it.
3.     Sometimes we measure results upside down.  What your community, friends, and even you look at and call “failure” can turn out to be the main cog in the wheel of God’s gracious plan.  After all, who knew mold in a Petri dish could be the success of the ages against infectious diseases?  Or that the blood of the martyrs could be the seed of the church?  Or that losing yourself for the sake of God’s will means you gain everything worthwhile in this life and the next?
God said he looks at things differently than we do – a LOT differently:
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.  Isaiah 55:9(NLT)

For You Today

Got anything really stinky going on in your life right now?  When that temptation comes to blame God for whatever part you really detest about it, remember that He always keeps his promises, stands by you and knows how to measure whatever’s going on against the backdrop of eternity.  Your part is to trust Him!
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!


[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com

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