WHERE IS GOD?

“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.”
LAMENTATIONS 3:40

Our society continues to try to fix every problem through tolerance.
If we will just agree to allow others to express themselves in whatever way they please,
we will become a well-blended and perfect society where noone’s individuality is suppressed.
Consequently, believers are expected to be tolerant of things that conflict with their beliefs.
It seems that everyone and every idea is to be tolerated except for Christian principles.

How has our Christian nation gotten to this point?
It could be that the modern day philosophy of self-reliance and self-sufficiency has caused
the masses to believe that we can do just fine without God.
As a result, our society is bent on excluding God from EVERYTHING.
Many feel that “religion” is okay for a select group of emotional people,
but we are better off with people who believe in themselves.

We have heard phrases like, “If it feels good, do it” and later, “Just do it”.
In other words, there should be no restrictions placed on anyone.
No Bible principles should be considered, because after all,
we have left God behind in our pursuit of happiness and a utopian society.

The question we need to ask is, “How is this new philosophy working for the world?”
We can see that this self-confident generation has produced more alcoholics, more dope addicts,
more criminals, more wars, more broken homes, more assaults, more embezzlements, more murders,
and more suicides than any other generation that ever existed.
Our society has steered us into believing that we have no faults
and all of our mistakes are a result of the actions of others and not ourselves.
As a result of this type of thinking, there are record numbers of people
seeking psychological and psychiatric counseling to try and figure out ‘what went wrong’.

We have been guided into believing that we should be in total control of our lives,
but we should not accept responsibility for anything we do that is considered wrong, even in a Godless world.

So, what is the remedy for a society on a slippery slope toward anarchy
(a state of disorder due to the absence of, or non-recognition of authority)?
We need to follow the advice of the Bible – “Return to the Lord”.
We need to have confidence in our abilities and we need to have pride in doing a good job,
but neither of these should be a replacement for our dependence on God.
Our world NEEDS God and needs to understand that He wants our dependence and not our independence.
It is the same way we feel toward our own children – we want them to need us.
We enjoy providing for their needs and giving them pleasant surprises for no particular reason.
Would God be any different toward His children?
According to the scriptures, the answer is “No”.
He loves everyone (even those who want to remove His visibility) and He developed a plan of
salvation so that we can ultimately be with Him one day.

He also blesses us in many ways, but yet we may take them for granted.
One of the blessings He provides on a daily basis is the beat of our heart.
If He removed that ONE blessing, we would KNOW without a doubt that we are NOT self-sufficient.

When we ‘examine our ways’, we find that they are not working out very well.
When we ‘test them’, we can see how they have failed us.
The world doesn’t have solutions to the rise of problems we face, but God does.
We need to return to Him and have more trust and faith that He is the One who can solve the worldly problems.
Instead of pushing God into the background, He should be brought to the forefront in everything.

You may be saying,
“I agree with the content of this devotional, but it will never happen in the world we live in”.

It may seem like an impossibility, but what do the scriptures tell us?
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray
and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven,
and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. ”
(2 Chronicles 7:14)

We have been discussing the world as a whole, but getting more personal,
do you need to ‘return to the Lord’?
Have you excluded Him from certain areas of your own life?
Are there things you know you should be doing (or not doing)
but you have allowed your selfishness to be in control?
Do you humble yourself and pray for our world?
Have your turned from the things that displease God?

The scriptures remind us to worship together (this pleases God),
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,
not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging
one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”         (Hebrews 10:24-25)
This is not a suggestion but a command from God through His Word.
Yet, there are many who have decided to push this act of faith into the background.

We are not given the freedom of picking and choosing which of His commands we will obey.
Yet, church attendance continues to drop as Christians find other things to do
instead of meeting with God (and other believers) in His house on a regular basis.
Only 17% of believers surveyed say they attend church on a regular basis.
God can change the direction of our society, but as believers,
we need to make sure that we are personally including Him in every facet of our own lives.

Pray,
“God, when I examine my heart, I see too much of self there.
I ask You for Your forgiveness and I pray that you would help
me to place my confidence, trust and faith in You.  Help me to
develop humility as I pray that our world will return to You.”