If you want a serious reality check of the moral compass of the world, just turn on any TV channel and watch what is aired day in and day out; or click on news websites and you'll find not only what's taking place here on our soil, but across the globe as well. Good things, bad things, things we don't even want to know about!
Our moral intellect and faith are faced daily with problems that we can't find solutions to.
If you look back on history, you can see time and time again people doing what is right in their own eyes and not following after the things of God. And how He consistently calls them back to repentance and obedience. How long-suffering He is. How patient He is. How merciful.
It's very hard for me to observe things this way. My human flesh and finite mind want to say, "Why, Lord? Why!? Why do You allow things to go on that are this evil? Why do You not stop them when You have the power to do so?" Do you ever find yourself asking God these questions? Asking Him why is He so inactive in the sufferings of the innocent and why He seems to not care about horrible acts of violence and slow, terminal death of which He can heal but sometimes chooses not to? But God is God and I am not, and He has clearly stated that our ways are not His ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts...We don't get to understand some things, but it doesn't mean that He loves us any less or that He doesn't care about the things that take place every day.
I read a while ago in the book, "I Became A Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt" the analogy the author wrote about his infant son. His tiny baby boy had to undergo a spinal tap. The doctors told the father that this would be painful but after the procedure they would hand the baby to him for comforting. It was a necessary procedure, but neither the father nor the baby wanted it to happen. No one ever wants pain.
After the procedure they handed the baby over just like they had promised and the author writes that his little baby boy looked up at him crying and looking as if he were saying, "Why Daddy? Why did you put me through this? Why did this have to happen to me? Why was it so painful?" And the Dad could have said, "Well son it's a spinal tap and the doctors suspect meningitis and it is very bad if you have it and we have to know so we can treat it so you'll be better"....and on and on with medical terms and reasoning. But would the infant have understood any of that? Would that baby have realized that it was for his good? No...
So all the father did was snuggle him up under his chin and whisper in a still small voice, "It's OK Son...it's OK. I'm here. I love you. I love you and it will be alright..."
Much like our God does for us when we are going through pain and trials and things we don't understand. Sometimes we don't understand how in the world a pain or "procedure" could ever be good for us. But that's when we need to trust Him. When we can't see the purpose in something, we have to put our faith in the One that does. And realize that we are not alone, He is there, holding us close, loving us and with us through all the pain...
I love the very first few statements of the prophet Habakkuk:
"O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! Even cry out unto thee of violence and thou wilt not save! Why dost thou show me iniguity, and cause me to behold grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and the judgement doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgement proceedth."
I could hug Habakkuk right now...I could tell him I feel his anguish and broken heart. I wonder what Habakkuk saw the day he penned these words...I could apply it to seeing the woman abuse the 3 week old baby..."Why do you show me iniquity and grievance and you won't save the baby????" But Habakkuk actually received answers. Habakkuk was a man with honest doubts and wasn't afraid to ask God for help in understanding injustices that he saw.
Chapter 3 verses 17-19 are probably he sweetest verses, the most beautiful hymn in the Bible. They read:
"Although the fig tree shall not blossom
Neither shall fruit be in the vines;
the labour of the olive shall fail,
and the fields shall yeild no meat;
the flock shall be cut off from the fold,
and there shall 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,
and He will make my feet like the hinds' feet
and he will make me to walk upon mine hingh places
To the chief singer on my stringed instruments..."
Our joy must lay in our confidence in God. A God that hears and a God that rescues. True faith means loving and serving God regardless of our circumstances. Regardless if we understand "why". For when we trust in Him, that's when we receive unspeakable joy. We can trust in the fact that we will have victory over triumph and joy and peace in the meantime...
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