“What do you think You’re doing?” is a question that springs
to my mind too often, as if I have the right to question the Almighty,
All-Knowing, Eternal God! It is a common human conceit, to think we understand
more than we actually do, to want to make our will supreme. In a childish way, I want God to erase
struggle, to grant perpetual smiles and sunshine. This fails to account for one
of His greatest gifts to me (and all the world) – the gift of choice. He allows me to live in faith or to close my eyes
to the mystery of the Divine. If God
were to become the ‘God’ so many of us desire, He would have to remove all
creativity, all choice, every trace of freedom from this world because
where there is freedom, there is always the possibility of evil.
If we take a short view of history, even in our own lives,
we may join those who conclude that loving and serving the Holy One is an
exercise in futility! “You have said,
‘What’s the use of serving God? What have we gained by obeying his commands or
by trying to show the Lord of Heaven’s Armies that we are sorry for our sins?
From now on we will call the arrogant blessed. For those who do evil get rich,
and those who dare God to punish them suffer no harm.’ ” (Malachi 3:14-15,
NLT) I will confess that conclusion
tries to take root in my mind. The
people of Malachi’s time were not the first to wonder about God’s
goodness. The singer of the 73rd
Psalm laments that "these wicked
people— enjoy a life of ease while their riches multiply. Did I keep my heart
pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?" (Psalm
73:12-14, NLT)
So what was the
remedy for that kind of bitterness?
In both of those passages, it was a recovery of perspective, a long
view, that restored faith. "Then
those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and
heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who
feared the Lord and honored his name. “They will be mine,” says the Lord
Almighty, “in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare
them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between
the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not."
(Malachi 3:16-18, NIV) In the moment, we
may wonder why, we may be unable to see the greater blessings of the Lord. But,
read the finished stories of those who walk in faith and renewed appreciation
for His love will grow. That is one of
the reasons I enjoy biographies of Christians.
Sometimes their struggles bear no apparent fruit for decades, sometimes not
even until after their death! The sweep
of the Scripture that envelopes centuries reveals God’s will and purpose, even
as He preserves His people – through times of failure and success.
C.S. Lewis, who wrote much of the faith in Christ that he
found late in life, observes the upside down relationship into which we
fall. He wrote these words in the time
of social upheaval that followed the Second World War, but they are even more
true of so many people today. “The greatest barrier I have met is the
almost total absence from the minds of my audience of any sense of sin... The
early Christian preachers could assume in their hearers… a sense of guilt. … Thus
the Christian message was in those days unmistakably the Good News. It promised
healing to those who knew they were sick. We have to convince our hearers of
the unwelcome diagnosis before we can expect them to welcome the news of the
remedy. The ancient man approached God
as the accused person approaches his judge. For the modern man, the roles
are quite reversed. He is the judge: God
is in the dock. … man is on the bench and God is in the dock.” ― God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and
Ethics
Have you put God in the seat of the accused?
Have you donned the robes of a judge, presuming to indict Him for failure?
Are you ready to doubt Him, challenge Him, or accuse Him of wrong-doing?
Have you donned the robes of a judge, presuming to indict Him for failure?
Are you ready to doubt Him, challenge Him, or accuse Him of wrong-doing?
The truth is that God is good all the time. When we suffer
because of evil He desires our restoration. We blame Him for judging us, when
in reality we eat the fruit that grows from the seeds planted by human rebellion.
One of the persistent lies in this world is that God is angry, vengeful, and
ready to destroy. The testimony of the
Word is that God is loving; not in a
syrupy, sentimental way, but in a bold, engaged, and redemptive manner. Our sin
does matter, but He took it on Himself and settled the score with evil so that
we could become truly free, able to choose to love Him, to walk with
Him, and to enter into the fullest life possible.
Here is a word from the Word. As you read it this Monday
morning, take it deeply to your spirit, inviting the Spirit to humble your
heart and quiet you in your struggle.
"Let us continue
to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God
and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t
know the first thing about God, because
God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed
his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through
him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time
loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away
our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God. … if we love
one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in
us—perfect love!" (1 John 4:7-12, The Message)
___________
Who breaks the power
of sin and darkness
Whose love is mighty
and so much stronger
The King of Glory the
King above all kings
Who shakes the whole
earth with holy thunder
Who leaves us
breathless in awe and wonder
The King of Glory the
King above all kings
This is amazing grace
This is unfailing love
That You would take my
place
That You would bear my
cross
You laid down Your
life
That I would be set
free
Oh Jesus I sing for
all that You've done for me
Who brings our chaos
back into order
Who makes the orphan a
son and daughter
The King of Glory the
King of Glory
Who rules the nations
with truth and justice
Shines like the sun in
all of its brilliance
The King of Glory the
King above all kings
Worthy is the Lamb who
was slain
Worthy is the King who
conquered the grave
Worthy is the Lamb who
was slain
Worthy is the King who
conquered the grave
Worthy is the Lamb who
was slain
Worthy is the King who
conquered the grave
Worthy is the Lamb who
was slain
Worthy worthy worthy
Jeremy Riddle | Josh Farro | Phil Wickham
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