His amazing love

How many times have I asked myself, "Why, Lord? Why me? Why now? Why this?" When I give in to the enemy's attack and question my Father's heart I get this persecution complex where the Lord lets bad things happen to me and then gets to pawn it off as a "test" to see how I'll cling to Him or some such nonsense.

He knew when He created the world that he would bring grief to Himself (Gen 6:6), yet He did it anyway. It only took man three chapters for Him to commit His Son to the defeat of Satan and sin, yet He did it anyway. He knew all of this before day one of creation. The day He said, "Let there be light," He started the countdown to Calvary. If you knew that you that an action you took would end up with one of your children hanging on cross would you follow through with the act? I sit here and think of my son and I answer a resounding, "No!"

A couple of things come to mind: 1. He must have had a good reason to carry through with His plan, and 2. I can stop blaming Him and start clinging to Him. Let's look at #1. I've asked the question myself, "If He knows everything and He can do anything, couldn't He have created man in such a way that He brought glory to Himself without sin entering the world?" I guess the answer to that is "yes" yet that is not how it played out. Can I safely assume then that if there was a better way for His plan to play out He would have amended His plan accordingly? If I am to say, "He knows everything," then I must also conclude He knows not only what is but what could be. As I don't know everything, when I make decisions I must weigh one option against the other and go for the best option available based on finite knowledge and an inability to see anything in the future. His infinite knowledge, from before creation, saw everything play out to the very end, and He proceeded. Conclusion: there was no amendment needed because the plan He put in place was and is perfect.

The answer to number two can be conclusively answered using Job 38-41.  The Lord didn't spend much time on the receiving end of blame for what happened to Job.  I particularly like it when the Lord tells Job to "cowboy up" if you're going to stand before Me and point an accusing finger.  The passage opens up with "Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm."  Can you imagine it?  It makes me think of swirling clouds with thunder and lightning and this booming voice over it all.  He even gives Job another shot in chapter 40 to say anything else.  Job is confronted with his unworthiness and puts his hand over his mouth.  The Lord tells him to cowboy up again and continues with His reply.  At the end of four chapters answering Job our Father concludes His rebuttal.  Job then answers with the following:

"I know that You can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted.  You asked, 'Who is this that obscures My counsel without knowledge?'  Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.  You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.'  My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.  Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." - Job 42:1-6

I think its interesting that when Job received his reply from the Lord his response was to despise himself and repent of his adversarial stance, his assumption that the Lord was in the wrong and that Job stood justified before Him.  I don't say this to keep me from asking my Father "why" but to remind myself that when I do see Him, when He does reveal His answer and Himself, my response will be that of Job and repent.  When I get my focus off of Him, when my focus is on the trial itself and its impact on me I question His knowledge and whether or not He really knows what He's doing.  Conclusion:  clinging to Him makes a lot more sense than blaming Him.  (I find that Job's story is different from mine in that often my "persecution" is a result of poor decisions on my part as opposed to Satan asking the Lord if he could test me.)

Father, I realize that a lot of what I said this morning has the ring of opinion to it as I didn't reference much of Your word, yet I've drawn conclusions about You, Your plan, and the way its unfolded.  Please forgive me if I've misrepresented You or made any conclusion that does not line up with Your revealed truth in Your word.  Please take us continually to Your word to guard against knowledge that is foolishness compared to Yours.  I love You, Father.  In Jesus' name, amen.