WHERE IS GOD WHEN...?

 

                                    WHERE IS GOD WHEN…?

                          (a short article for the local newspaper)

   Recently someone recounted to me an apparent tradition among one of the First Nations. When a boy was being initiated into manhood, his father would lead him blindfolded into the forest and leave him by himself for the night. His son was to sit there blindfolded until his father returned for him in the morning. What he did not know was that his father stayed by him the whole night watching over him.

  At times it seems like God our Heavenly Father abandons us, though He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. Nonetheless, we may feel He has left us on our own, but like the native father He is never far off and is ever watching over us. Meanwhile He is training, testing, and grooming us, to the end that we learn to trust Him completely. He is constantly observing our ways and behaviour. Now I must point out that there are situations where He leaves us to our own devices as a consequential outcome of our actions. Let’s look at a few.

1- Disobedience - Jesus told His disciples that His Father never leaves Him alone because He always does the things that please Him. For a personal example of displeasing God, in my early walk with the Lord as a new believer I would ask Him why, while I was doing certain things, He would not seem to be around. When I finally read the Bible I discovered that those things I was doing are sin. Whether we realize it or not, sinful behavior separates us from God.

2 – Unfaithful to the Terms – In Christ we enter into a biding covenant of faith with the Almighty and there are terms of the commitment. Samson, whom God endowed with super human strength, fell into an inappropriate relationship with a Philistine woman. She enticed Him to reveal the secret of his strength, which was his uncut hair as a Nazarite. She lulled him to sleep, cut off his hair, and summoned the Philistine soldiers. When he tried to escape he was unaware that the Lord had left him. It cost him his strength at the time, his eyes, and finally his life. If we play games with our commitment and venture into situations that we shouldn’t, should we expect Him to always be there to bail us out?

3 – Being Tested – King Hezekiah, who was fully dedicated to the Lord, had a pride problem. When ambassadors from Babylon came to visit him, the Bible says that the Lord left him to see what was in his heart. Hezekiah foolishly showed them all his treasures. The Babylonians eventually returned, laid waste to the Kingdom of Judah, and took all the treasures. We may be surprised at how much the Lord keeps us from our own folly.

4 – SEPARATED BY SIN – As Jesus hung on the cross He cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” The Bible says that Jesus became SIN for us and took our deserved judgment, at which point God could not look on Him. The barrier between every person and God is our sins. There is no one who does not sin, and nor can any person erase their sins. But God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believes in Him, should not perish, but have EVERLASTING LIFE. Outside of Christ we are in our sins and separated from God our Heavenly Father. But by faith in Jesus, that barrier is washed away, and we will be united with Him FOREVER! Where is God to you now?