We have all been there. Something important, something you value, something that is great in so many ways and for so many people. And what happens? It blows up. If you could excuse me for being a little personal for a second, but why did my wife have to get a tumor on her kidney during our honeymoon? Why did my wife and I get nailed with a two thousand dollar fine from the state of Michigan for a ticket that happened in South Carolina with a Colorado car? "We are just trying to get on our feet, trying to serve God. Why are we in debt with all of these extra things outside of our control?" And that's just money, what about pain? What about emotional scars? What about death? What about good plans and good desires that end up dashed? How come so many innocent people are abused? Why do some of the best people who touch our lives pass on while the wicked go on untouched?
Well to answer those questions we have to step back. This passage lays it out pretty clear. First of all, we aren't as big of a deal as we think we are. Secondly, we have no ground to question God. Furthermore, being in God's hands is good; and we have to trust him, because whether we realize it or not, the shelter of his wings is the best place we could ever be!
I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things...
"Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' or 'Your work has no handles'? ...Woe to him who says to a woman, 'With what are you in labor?'"
And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and Savior, there is none besides me. "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God and there is no other...To me every knee shall bow and every tongue swear allegiance."
If you know God, this is a great answer. There is no one else. He is in complete control. In this very passage there is a prophecy about a certain King Cyrus that came to fruition about 500 years later. Forget vague predictions, we have a name. A specific name. If you don't know God, this still might sound crazy, it may not even sound like an answer at all. But for those of us who do know God, who have seen who He is. It's all we need to hear. We just need reminded.
he who formed me from the womb to be his servant...
those who wait for me shall not be put to shame...
"...I am the LORD your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."
Great post! I'm reminded of Job's long-awaited chance to ask God for an explanation for his suffering and of God's reply, which boiled down to a simple truth: I am God.
ReplyDeleteA dear friend of ours has a saying about unexpected financial troubles. "If that's how God wants to spend His money, so be it!"
Yes, I concur with Robert - great post! I was just reading in Job this morning and in the midst of his emotional and physical suffering he makes a statement of solidarity. "I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God."
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