Blogger’s Note: Since this devotional came on my birthday, I think God was pointedly directing His Spirit-led wisdom to me this morning. But maybe some of you can identify as well.
Study from God’s Word… Romans, Chapters 9 - 11 … Passage for Reflection: Romans 9: 19 … NIV One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist His will?”
My Journal for Today: Paul’s pointed rhetorical question [in today’s text], directed to Jewish Christians questioning God for allowing Gentiles into God’s family, points to one of the most intriguing of all Christian conundrums. And that is this: If God is sovereign, and He is; then how can I be blamed for my sinfulness when HE created me this way?
As Dr. Smith points out today, anyone, very naturally, who is accused of something they did not do, will retort: “Hey, it’s not my fault; why blame me?” And that is behind our wondering why God holds me accountable for my sin when He created me, a sinner. What’s up with that anyway?
And the answer is that, like Adam and Eve, God did create me; but, also like Adam & Eve, God didn’t create me to sin. He created me to glorify Him by choosing not to sin when He created me with the free-will to choose His way or my own. Do you get it?
It’s not God’s will that we became evil because of Adam’s (and Eve’s) sin. No, He created me to glorify Him by choosing His will and His way of doing life; and to avoid my own. And being sovereign, God is the potter; and He can form me any way HE sees fit. And if I happen to have certain predispositions to sinful living or choices, that’s simply the way I was created. And some are created in such a way that sinful living or choices come much easier than it does for others.
And so, should we, sinful creatures, harangue at God, saying, “God, why did you make me this way?” Or should we say, “Lord, show me how, given the way You made me, I can glorify you by living the way You have willed all mankind to live?” I think the latter is the better option, don’t you?
So, if we have a “thorn,” which God created us to have or allowed Satan to give us (perhaps unwanted same-sex desires, or an ‘addiction’ to pornography, or gluttonous eating desires), it might be wise for us to go back and meditate on Romans 7: 14-23 and/or 2nd Cor. 12: 7-10, where Paul described his own weaknesses and fleshly hang-ups; and where he wants us all to see that no matter how we were made and whatever weaknesses we have, “God’s grace is sufficient” for us to rise above our recognized weaknesses or proclivities and honor God with our Spirit-led and Spirit-directed choices to overcome our selves and honor God with our free will.
Chew on that one for awhile, my friends, especially any of you who are feeling like God is giving you an unfair disadvantage by the way He made you. We need to get over it [i.e., the self pity] , my loved ones; and get on with God’s plan for our lives.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, forgive me if I’ve ever blamed You for the way I am or the way I choose to sin against Your will. Amen
Showing posts with label self pity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self pity. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
2009 – Day 173.June 23 – The Blues
2009 – Day 173.June 23 – The Blues
Passage of the Day: 1st Kings 19: 1 – 9 … Linked for study …
My Journal for Today: If you’ve been following along with my study of Swindoll’s exposition of Elijah’s life, we’ve seen this Prophet of God building for the big fight. God took him off to a quiet safe place in Cherith and took him through a boot camp experience. Elijah then worked out with the widow and her child, where God used Elijah’s humility to bring back to life back to the Widow’s child. And then it was off to the heavyweight championship where our fighter for God took on and defeated 450 pagan prophets and then out ran Ahab’s chariot to boot. In that episode we saw how Elijah saw God’s promise and hope in the form one little cloud.
But now our Prophet has become weary as he takes on Jezebel, the wife of the king; and this dangerous lady seems to get the better of our hero, chasing him into the desert in fear. So, what’s with this? What has happened to our champion warrior who seems to turn tail and run? Well, it the beauty and balance of God’s word to show us the real deal, … the warts as well as the wonderful. And here we see our man, Elijah, who has likely become so tired that he can’t see straight; and he’s been taken down for the count.
In fact, in this scenario, we see that sometimes God doesn’t give His faithful warriors what they ask for in prayer. No, the Lord hears Elijah’s pitiful cry to die. Elijah, is under the tree crying for God to take him home. But instead of giving our pitifully prophet what he asks for; God gives Elijah exactly what His warrior needed. Elijah prayed for death and God gave our Prophet life. Elijah had taken his eyes off of His Savior and was looking inward toward self, which is often the most dangerous place to be looking in life.
And right now, as I do very often in my quiet place with God, my life-giving Lord has taken me back to the chorus of the old friend and faithful hymn, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, which states …
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of the world will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Swindoll is right, it is not uncommon for us to take our eyes off of the giver and look to the gift. Or we can let our fears drive our vision into self, taking our eyes off of our Savior. And that is where Elijah found himself after those great victories. He was tired and became despondent and desperate with self pity. But God came to him just as Jesus promised He would in Matt. 11: 28 – 30 … where our Lord says to His disciples … "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
And God’s “NO” to Elijah's prayer to die was exactly what our downed hero needed to hear; and it’s often what we often need to internalize in a pity party. Thankfully God doesn’t always say “YES” to all of our prayers, especially when we’re seeing only self and not looking into the face of our Savior. And so God allowed Elijah his little pity party before he sat our fallen hero down; and let our burdened warrior get a dose of God’s R&R, … a time of rest and recreation, which brought our man back to the faith which had brought God’s truth to His people.
And my dear one, we can find God in the midst of the world’s troubles too. We just need to find a broom tree and sit down with God and get through our pity party, letting God reveal Himself to us so that we can go on by looking at God’s glory and grace rather than seeing only the darkness of the world.
Go back today, if you’re down and out, and sing that old hymn to yourself, or pull it up on your Ipod as I have this morning, and be lifted up with its wonderful message. "And the things of this world will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”
My Prayer for Today: Your face is so glorious, Lord; and when I look to You, I am lifted up. Amen
Passage of the Day: 1st Kings 19: 1 – 9 … Linked for study …
My Journal for Today: If you’ve been following along with my study of Swindoll’s exposition of Elijah’s life, we’ve seen this Prophet of God building for the big fight. God took him off to a quiet safe place in Cherith and took him through a boot camp experience. Elijah then worked out with the widow and her child, where God used Elijah’s humility to bring back to life back to the Widow’s child. And then it was off to the heavyweight championship where our fighter for God took on and defeated 450 pagan prophets and then out ran Ahab’s chariot to boot. In that episode we saw how Elijah saw God’s promise and hope in the form one little cloud.
But now our Prophet has become weary as he takes on Jezebel, the wife of the king; and this dangerous lady seems to get the better of our hero, chasing him into the desert in fear. So, what’s with this? What has happened to our champion warrior who seems to turn tail and run? Well, it the beauty and balance of God’s word to show us the real deal, … the warts as well as the wonderful. And here we see our man, Elijah, who has likely become so tired that he can’t see straight; and he’s been taken down for the count.
In fact, in this scenario, we see that sometimes God doesn’t give His faithful warriors what they ask for in prayer. No, the Lord hears Elijah’s pitiful cry to die. Elijah, is under the tree crying for God to take him home. But instead of giving our pitifully prophet what he asks for; God gives Elijah exactly what His warrior needed. Elijah prayed for death and God gave our Prophet life. Elijah had taken his eyes off of His Savior and was looking inward toward self, which is often the most dangerous place to be looking in life.
And right now, as I do very often in my quiet place with God, my life-giving Lord has taken me back to the chorus of the old friend and faithful hymn, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, which states …
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of the world will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Swindoll is right, it is not uncommon for us to take our eyes off of the giver and look to the gift. Or we can let our fears drive our vision into self, taking our eyes off of our Savior. And that is where Elijah found himself after those great victories. He was tired and became despondent and desperate with self pity. But God came to him just as Jesus promised He would in Matt. 11: 28 – 30 … where our Lord says to His disciples … "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
And God’s “NO” to Elijah's prayer to die was exactly what our downed hero needed to hear; and it’s often what we often need to internalize in a pity party. Thankfully God doesn’t always say “YES” to all of our prayers, especially when we’re seeing only self and not looking into the face of our Savior. And so God allowed Elijah his little pity party before he sat our fallen hero down; and let our burdened warrior get a dose of God’s R&R, … a time of rest and recreation, which brought our man back to the faith which had brought God’s truth to His people.
And my dear one, we can find God in the midst of the world’s troubles too. We just need to find a broom tree and sit down with God and get through our pity party, letting God reveal Himself to us so that we can go on by looking at God’s glory and grace rather than seeing only the darkness of the world.
Go back today, if you’re down and out, and sing that old hymn to yourself, or pull it up on your Ipod as I have this morning, and be lifted up with its wonderful message. "And the things of this world will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”
My Prayer for Today: Your face is so glorious, Lord; and when I look to You, I am lifted up. Amen
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