This morning, after turning off my alarm and telling myself I was getting up, I promptly snuggled back in with the warm little body of 10 month old Adam and fell back asleep for another 10 minutes. Oops! I blame the time change. And general sleep deprivation.
So, running 10 minutes behind on my morning routine meant a quicker version of Bible study. I chose Proverbs because they are like little truth nuggets that you can chew on all day long, and I chose chapter 19 at complete random.
There were so many delectable nuggets in that chapter that I felt like I couldn't savor them enough! Do you ever feel that way about the Word? I mean, I should always feel that way, but let's be real.
I could write a post about nearly any verse from the chapter, but Prov 19:3 resonated with me the most. "A person's own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the Lord."
Okay so first of all, I see this almost every day with college students. Not necessarily raging against the Lord, but blaming someone else for the consequences of their own mistakes. Just this morning I was met with an email from a student, demanding a refund for a class because he was displeased with his grade -- blaming the professor. Insert my eye roll here.
But I think on a larger scale we all do this. How many times has something gone wrong or not the way we had planned and we think WHY God?! How many times have we felt angry with God or abandoned by God for the results of our own mistakes? I'm not saying we deserve every bad thing that happens to us. Some things are just a result of a fallen world, where "we," as in creation itself, are experiencing the results of original sin. That can be hard to swallow because listen, I didn't tell Adam to eat that dang apple.
But are we maybe misplacing some blame onto God when we suffer? Are we feeling abandoned when we haven't done a thing to connect with God anyway? I mean, what do we expect? Actually, I would argue we get a LOT more than we deserve. God continues to reach out to us, even when we continually push him away or are indifferent to him. God continues to care for us, even when we are not thankful for all the many blessings we have...for our very BREATH!
So, next time you feel like lashing out, or the next time you find yourself frustrated with God... take a minute. Is God really to blame for your circumstances? Are you focusing on the negative when there is a lot of positive you could be thanking him for instead? Is there a lesson in this that maybe God is trying to teach you? Don't let your heart rage against the Lord when the cause of your ruin is your own folly.
Pray to Him instead. Ask for forgiveness. Ask for help. Ask for strength and peace. And thank Him for all the undeserving goodness in your life.
And I'll try to do the same. Even when I'm sleep deprived. :)
