I asked God to divert my anger and sorrow away from things that don't matter - Kanye West's rantings, Green Day being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame before Deep Purple and Cheap Trick, the fury of Bernie vs. Hillary - to things that do matter.
So, this month, He allowed me to somehow injure my back, my prescription drug plan to change so that my medications would cost more than I can afford every month, that my most important medication would not be covered at all, so that I'd lose it completely, and that my glasses would break, and I'd not be able to afford new ones.
In the book of Daniel, three men of God, about to be cast into a furnace for refusing to worship Babylonian idols, said, "our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up."
In my case, the false gods and gold images with which I'm tempted are in the form of bitterness and disbelief in God, for allowing me to suffer - which is something He never promised we would be exempt from. I've never understood the thought that "bad things happen, so there must be no God." For this to hold merit or logic, God would have to have first promised that He would protect us from the smallest to the most bone-chilling of horrors - which He has not promised. "If x is y, then x cannot be z" does not work here. He has not sworn to wrap us in bubble wrap to protect us from life's everyday trials and tragedies, nor has He bound us in a moral straight jacket that prevents us from committing wrongs that hurt others - slightly or severely. And I'm glad He hasn't - would love be love with the grueling effort, to choose it?
Instead, God promises us reconciliation to Him through His Son Christ Jesus, who suffered unimaginably on the cross so that we could each be offered the gift of eternal life and a personal relationship with Him - but not without suffering and sorrow on Earth. He has promised to comfort us in the midst of terrors, to give us strength when it seems the world is pitch black in darkness, to give us wisdom and discernment when we seek Him in hope, in desperation, in fear, or in confidence.
God has broken no contract in which He promised protection from each hardship and horror. He has not wronged me in the 29 years I've been alive, and I will not turn away from Him to serve the comfort of apathy, cynicism, and anger. Lord, make these words not boastful, but keep Your hand and on my heart; let me never stray from You to serve what is hopeless and bitter, but to minister to those in sorrow and pain - as You've commanded each of us who believe.
Good gosh I'm interesting.
"Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The LORD God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills."
-Habakkuk 3:17-19
So, this month, He allowed me to somehow injure my back, my prescription drug plan to change so that my medications would cost more than I can afford every month, that my most important medication would not be covered at all, so that I'd lose it completely, and that my glasses would break, and I'd not be able to afford new ones.
In the book of Daniel, three men of God, about to be cast into a furnace for refusing to worship Babylonian idols, said, "our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up."
Instead, God promises us reconciliation to Him through His Son Christ Jesus, who suffered unimaginably on the cross so that we could each be offered the gift of eternal life and a personal relationship with Him - but not without suffering and sorrow on Earth. He has promised to comfort us in the midst of terrors, to give us strength when it seems the world is pitch black in darkness, to give us wisdom and discernment when we seek Him in hope, in desperation, in fear, or in confidence.
God has broken no contract in which He promised protection from each hardship and horror. He has not wronged me in the 29 years I've been alive, and I will not turn away from Him to serve the comfort of apathy, cynicism, and anger. Lord, make these words not boastful, but keep Your hand and on my heart; let me never stray from You to serve what is hopeless and bitter, but to minister to those in sorrow and pain - as You've commanded each of us who believe.
Good gosh I'm interesting.
"Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The LORD God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills."
-Habakkuk 3:17-19
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