Today we read a couple troubling things. The first is the Psalm. The Psalmist (probably David) is crying out to God, who doesn't seem to be listening or care. That's hard enough, but if you think of Jesus picking up a scroll like the one above and reading those words... perhaps knowing that He was going to experience them first hand? His body melting like wax? His clothes going to the winner of a dice roll? It would be a dark feeling indeed to read that.
And we also read some disturbing things in Romans. Paul seems to say that God purposefully imprisons us in disobedience so that He can have mercy on us. He seems to say that God throws us all in jail so that He can be the savior and let us out again.
If we read only these verses, we might get a strange view of God. And here's the important bit: if we only look at certain circumstances in our lives, we might also get a very strange view of God.
All of us go through times where we feel like praying "God, why have you abandoned me?" We all wonder where He is and why He doesn't just "fix it" sometimes.
But when we read these verses, and when we experience these times in our lives, we know that there are other verses and other experiences that balance these. We know that life is hard sometimes, but God is there. He cares. When we cry, He hears us. He tells us over and over not to be afraid. He will take care of us. It might look scary sometimes, but He is there. He knows what He is doing. We can trust Him.
God, thanks for teaching us to trust You in our scary times.
1 comment:
Fear not my child, I'm with you always🎶. Carman sings it beautifully. And Carman is a true witness of this in his battle with cancer. The reading thru the Bible as we are doing now shows us (at least me) that many of the things I have taken at someone's teaching on verses many not be all that was meant or was out of context. Jesus' sacrifice for us is way beyond our worst nightmare, but yet He did it for you and me.......amazing
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