Tuesday, March 4th, 2025
Recently, I had a little bit of a challenging day spiritually. The enemy was slinging non-stop arrows and I didn’t feel that I was doing a very good job quenching them. My desire to stand and battle was lacking. I knew I should be quoting scripture and taking all my thoughts captive, but I was slowly slipping into a state of self-pity and feeling like I just wanted to give up. Towards the end of the day I was asking God how long this would last and why I wasn’t yet free of the constraints where I had often found myself. This was His reply, “Who made you God?”
I wasn’t really asking God “ask and you shall receive” questions, they were probably better described as complaints clothed as questions. I wasn’t really looking for Him to give me wisdom, I just wanted Him to take this thorn out of my side. But His answer exposed it all. I was trying to be God. I wasn’t content with my lot in life, and I was expecting something different. I wasn’t seeing the whole picture of my life; I was just looking at the negative side of the here and now. I wasn’t trusting in my Heavenly Father; I was just looking for something more comfortable and “normal”.
Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 4:3-5:
3 …In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.
In looking back at my personal situation, I was essentially judging myself. I was passing the verdict that I was not where I should be nor doing what I should be. Thankfully God in his loving kindness came down and graciously judged me and gave me a chance to once again see rightly. He reminded me that I am not God, nor would I ever want to be. As soon as He asked that question, I could feel my walls coming down. He exposed my pride and gave me a chance to humble myself and put Him back on the throne.
Final Thoughts…
Sometimes we think that when we become Christians we will live in a state of comfort and everything will feel good. The truth is actually quite the opposite. When we invite Jesus into our hearts, we are essentially putting a target on our backs and telling the enemy that we will not bow to him nor fall into his traps. He is not one to ignore a target. He will throw and shoot anything he can to try to weaken our resolve. Our ability to thrive as Christians needs to stop being measured by our comfort. We need to step out of our fuzzy, warm boxes and understand that even a cold, thorny path with God by our side is better than any path without Him. March 4th my brothers and sisters! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist!)