Good morning,
When does God owe us an apology? Right now we are living in a very interesting period in history. In general, the world around us is living out their lives as though there is no God of gods or King of kings. They believe that they can pick and choose who to believe and whose set of rules to live by. This way of thinking has become so strong that even those who claim to believe the God of the Bible have adopted most of these standards around them. We are often taught about the part of God, the lover, who will make sure that things in life will turn out reasonably well for His children. That kind of approach to understanding this God of love can produce a lot of fear and anger when he does not come through with these expectations. “Bad things” still keep happening to people and, with the help of the Enemy, we find ourselves feeling that God owes us an apology for not keeping his promises when they are so clearly written in the Bible. Jeremiah, God’s faithful prophet, found himself facing this problem thousands of year ago. God’s people, the Jews, were surrounded by powerful nations who had their own gods and who were basically in control of what happened to those around them. This small group of strange people, the Jews, claimed to follow a different God then anyone else. The Jews living then had largely adopted the values and customs of these nations, but still talked about the special God they worshipped.
When Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations, really bad things had happened to his beloved people. The country had been totally conquered and destroyed. Only a handful of people were left alive. God had warned his special people about their rebellion, but they refused to listen. Now the few that were still alive had been dragged off to some other country. Once God had promised to take care of them and also that the land that they lived on would be theirs so long as the earth was in place. Now the land was bare and empty. Did God owe them an apology? It’s very important that we remember that God deals very differently with his sworn enemies and his sinful children even if his children live on the same street or in the same house. When dealing with his children, God tells us that, For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love.(Lam.3:31,32) While God’s enemies will find themselves eternally defeated, God’s children are disciplined so that they will learn that loving discipline leads to a growing and more genuine relationship with our loving Savior. God’s love limits the challenges we face because, For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.(v.33) God goes on to say, Does not the Most High send both calamity and good? Then why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins? Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the LORD.(vs.38-40) Dear Lord, please help us to grow more like Jesus rather than groan and and complain when you do what will be best to accomplish you eternal plans for your family and our enemies. God never owns anyone an apology.
Lamentations 3:31 For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever. 32 Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love. 33 For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.
Roy Wisner
