Theme of the Week: Staying On Course
Bible Verse: “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26
Scripture Reading: Psalm 73:1-28
Each day I follow the local and world news and find it difficult to absorb the reality of all the bad things that happen. I would rather live in a world where nothing bad happened to anyone. However, this is not the way it is in our world. Bad things happen to all of us – things that break our spirits and leave deep wounds. In this life we all experience more than our share of sadness and grief.
Sometimes we struggle to understand how God could allow so much pain and heartache to exist in His world. How could a loving, all-powerful God allow a world so full of evil and sadness? There are no easy answers to this question. In fact, I hesitate to offer answers to those who are hurting because they often sound trite and uncaring. We have a severely handicapped daughter at home, so my wife and I have heard all the “answers” before. Well-intentioned people just trying to help….
Yet I also realize that people need to work through their questions in a way that will turn them toward God and not away from Him. He will sustain and comfort those who seek Him. But those who turn from Him in bitterness and resentment will not find His comfort. In Scripture, He is referred to as:
…the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God (2 Corinthians 1:3).
Perhaps God’s willingness to allow a world where bad things continue to happen is evidence of His mercy. I recognize that this is easier to accept when bad things are not happening to you. Yet this is what Scripture teaches. (See Romans 9:22-23.)
If, as Scripture declares, “All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory” (Romans 3:23), and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), the fact that anyone is alive and not under God’s wrath is evidence of God’s mercy. We are the ones who rebelled against a good Creator. God created a good universe. Human beings rebelled and every aspect of our suffering relates to this reality.
Thankfully, God has taken action to reverse these horrible effects and their root cause. He has also given us the promise of a new heaven and earth where neither sin nor sorrow will ever be experienced again.
Until this promise is fulfilled, bad things will continue to happen. Christians will disappoint one another, and we will struggle with the sad and painful experiences of living in a world that is not the way it’s supposed to be. By faith, based on God’s promise, we must patiently wait for all things to be made new.
Content taken from Staying on Course by Dr. Garth Leno, ©2001. Used with permission.
Prayer: Risen Lord, we are waiting for things to be made new. We want to see and end to the evil and suffering that this broken world has to endure. Bring your kingdom. Until then help me to live in the reality that you have saved and are still saving, that this world belongs to you.
Reflection: Do you long for heaven? How do you recognize God’s kingdom here and now?
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