For many of us living life is like standing twenty feet from a blank canvas, and throwing paint towards a blank form. When the canvas reveals something we hadnt expected, it is a result of the way we throw paint on the canvas. If our situation doesnt appear as though we expected, we say this makes absolutely no sense. We believe that we are in a action reaction relationship with God. When we see life as a direct result of what we do and say, it is though we are in control and create our own destiny. We somehow have been convinced that bad things dont happen when we are good, and there is no reason for the intersection of both good and evil. That our actions are always a determining factor of what life becomes. We believe that if we act right, and are good enough, as to not err making bad judgement, life will be smooth no challenge or painful result. We somehow bought a bill of goods that bad things dont happen to good people. That if we are pure in action and belief, our road will be smooth, no crevices, potholes, detours. I mean isnt that what the bible says, Honor The Lord and your days shall be rose laden? A resounding NO, is our answer. Deuteronomy 6:4-12 NLT [4] Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. [5] And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. [6] And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. [7] Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. [8] Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. [9] Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. [10] The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. [11] The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, [12] be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. Rather honor The Lord, and he will bring you out from the land of Egypt. He has and He WILL, rescue you, from a destiny without His presence. Problem is our understanding of faithfulness causes us to believe we will neither stumble or fall, if we dont sin.. No evil will come to those who walk in faithfulness. In the book of Job, he is confronted first by Eliphaz the Temanite, who basically tells him if you werent guilty of some infraction, a sin, then you would not be having any sorrow as a reality. Problem with this way of understanding, it gives rise to a deep mistrust of God, a haphazard maligned hatred of his Lordship. Is not God who he is ? Does he need to explain His ways to a mortal man, who is blind with limited sight and understanding. We are taught the formula from little up that if we follow Gods regulations no harm shall befall us. If we do experience harm, then we think God has positioned us as mere pawns on a stage that makes no sense, or carries no value. We think that because of evil around us, God does not care about our position or condition in which we find ourselves. We translate our existence and derive our value, based on the smoothness of the road. If we have no pain, then God is good and we are aligned in Him. If we experience setback, or an unexplainable experience, we surmise we have caused the situation. Or we choose to believe God allows bad things to occur simply out of malice towards our human nature. We could easily recognize our situation as, a result of what has been stolen from us, a victim mentality. We view our reality by what we dont have, or does the good outweigh the evil. Job had a bit of narcissism controlling his thought pattern even as his life was at ease. Job 3:25 NLT [25] What I always feared has happened to me. What I dreaded has come true. Job was convinced that sooner than later, all the goodness he had would someday break down due to his own inability to tow the line. It was his action and motivation alone that brought Gods displeasure and judgement. Isnt that just a little bit arrogant on Jobs behalf? He shows his own doubtful nature in the goodness and sovereignty of God, by saying it is his own action that causes circumstance. Rather than recognizing that he is not a determining factor for Gods plan, he is an element of. The battles God calls us to, the woundings and crippling of our soul and body we all receive, can not simply be ascribed to our sin and foolishness, or even the sin and foolishness of others. The pain and discomfort of life, is intended for our good. The sovereignty of God is above all that we ask or think, our minds, and our determination. His plan makes all good of our effort and desire, not the other way around. Genesis 28:15 NLT [15] Whats more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Jan 2014 13:41:08 +0000
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