I had heard bad news the night before, and after a night of crying and praying, had completely passed the grief stage and was well into rage. I furiously weeded the flower beds, flinging dirt and weeds as hard as I could. At least it served a purpose. In Florida, you can’t just hoe the weeds and expect them to die. Anything green will re-root by morning in this humid climate unless you completely remove it from the garden.
I was black to my elbows and sweating profusely when it crossed my mind to wonder if it might just be all right to curse if I were cursing Satan. Chloe sat next to me, tilting her head back and forth in confusion. Finally, when the convulsive sobbing started, she tucked her tail between her legs and slunk off in the direction of the porch, with a bewildered look over her shoulder at me.
In a moment of clarity awhile later, I realized that I had reached a milestone in my spiritual life. Automatically, without even having to think about it, I had directed my rage at the right person. Instead of blaming God, I had blamed the one who twists every good thing into ugliness. For once I had never even had a question about why this particular thing had happened. I knew why it had happened—because the enemy of God is the enemy of every one of his faithful children too.
So why doesn’t God keep anything bad from happening to those children? Maybe the same reason a good parent doesn’t shield his child from the result of his own mistakes. Maybe the same reason we make them eat their vegetables and get their shots. Causing pain is not always bad, not if you want to build healthy bodies and strong characters. But who am I to even ask or say anything definitive about the matter? This is all I can say:
His faithfulness is everlasting, Psa 119:90.
He loves justice and will not forsake his saints, Psa 37:28.
His love is steadfast, Psa 89:2.
There is no unrighteousness in him, Psa 92:15.
He made all things very good, Gen 1:31, and is the only one who is good, Luke 18:19.
He cannot be tempted with evil, and is never the cause of temptation, James 1:13.
Does any of that sound like the one we should blame about anything? Most of our problems come because of the freewill God created in us, yet even that freewill is a good thing for it means we can choose to love and serve God rather than being the pawns of a pagan notion of destiny. It means He can know that our service is willing and not forced, and that our love for Him is just as genuine as His for us.
That means we will have to put up with things we don’t like, with things that hurt and cause us pain because a long time ago one of us chose the wrong way, and suddenly there was evil in the world. But isn’t it wonderful that the justice of God says that, while we may have to live with the effects of that choice, we aren’t saddled with its guilt—we can make our own choices.
Remember when bad things befall you who to blame. Go out to your flower beds and remind yourself what the scriptures call him each time you rip out a weed and fling it with all your might--the Accuser, the Adversary, the Enemy, the Evil One, the father of lies, the Prince of demons, the Ruler of this world, that old Serpent, the Tempter. Why in the world would we ever think Someone Else was to blame?
This I recall to my mind; therefore have I hope. It is of Jehovah's lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. Jehovah is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. Jehovah is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Jehovah. Lam 3:21-26
Dene Ward
I was black to my elbows and sweating profusely when it crossed my mind to wonder if it might just be all right to curse if I were cursing Satan. Chloe sat next to me, tilting her head back and forth in confusion. Finally, when the convulsive sobbing started, she tucked her tail between her legs and slunk off in the direction of the porch, with a bewildered look over her shoulder at me.
In a moment of clarity awhile later, I realized that I had reached a milestone in my spiritual life. Automatically, without even having to think about it, I had directed my rage at the right person. Instead of blaming God, I had blamed the one who twists every good thing into ugliness. For once I had never even had a question about why this particular thing had happened. I knew why it had happened—because the enemy of God is the enemy of every one of his faithful children too.
So why doesn’t God keep anything bad from happening to those children? Maybe the same reason a good parent doesn’t shield his child from the result of his own mistakes. Maybe the same reason we make them eat their vegetables and get their shots. Causing pain is not always bad, not if you want to build healthy bodies and strong characters. But who am I to even ask or say anything definitive about the matter? This is all I can say:
His faithfulness is everlasting, Psa 119:90.
He loves justice and will not forsake his saints, Psa 37:28.
His love is steadfast, Psa 89:2.
There is no unrighteousness in him, Psa 92:15.
He made all things very good, Gen 1:31, and is the only one who is good, Luke 18:19.
He cannot be tempted with evil, and is never the cause of temptation, James 1:13.
Does any of that sound like the one we should blame about anything? Most of our problems come because of the freewill God created in us, yet even that freewill is a good thing for it means we can choose to love and serve God rather than being the pawns of a pagan notion of destiny. It means He can know that our service is willing and not forced, and that our love for Him is just as genuine as His for us.
That means we will have to put up with things we don’t like, with things that hurt and cause us pain because a long time ago one of us chose the wrong way, and suddenly there was evil in the world. But isn’t it wonderful that the justice of God says that, while we may have to live with the effects of that choice, we aren’t saddled with its guilt—we can make our own choices.
Remember when bad things befall you who to blame. Go out to your flower beds and remind yourself what the scriptures call him each time you rip out a weed and fling it with all your might--the Accuser, the Adversary, the Enemy, the Evil One, the father of lies, the Prince of demons, the Ruler of this world, that old Serpent, the Tempter. Why in the world would we ever think Someone Else was to blame?
This I recall to my mind; therefore have I hope. It is of Jehovah's lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. Jehovah is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. Jehovah is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Jehovah. Lam 3:21-26
Dene Ward
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