Last year was a hard year. I think it was hard for most of us in some way or another. I look back on it with a deep sigh of relief that it's over. I often have wondered why God allows us to go through the hard times. Why do we sometimes "walk through the valley of the shadow of death"? Why did this family member lose their job, or that friend have to go through a divorce? Why?
I read a book once that was about different paths that people take. It was a fictional book, but it made things seem so much clearer for me. There was a woman who was trying to escape from a foreign country where she was being prepared to marry a man she had never met. She didn't want to be forced to marry someone she didn't know so she ran away. The family of the man she was to marry put the word out that she was to be brought back, dead or alive. She had shamed their family honor.
During this time, the book tells about a man who is having visions of this woman. He felt that he was supposed to save her somehow. Shortly after he started having visions of her, he met her as she was fleeing her country. He saw different scenarios of what would happen if he took one path vs. another. He was shown what would happen based on what choices he made.
That was such an interesting thought to me. I never understood how God could allow us to go through certain things like working at a job where the people are hateful or where you do your best, but you still get fired.
We all like that God gave us free will, right? Free will allows us to stop and smell the roses if we want to, or go to the beach if we need a break or just want to spend some unscheduled time with our family. We can drive fast in our convertible to take our minds off of our troubles, or choose to eat one meal over another...chocolate instead of vanilla. Free will offers us so many options. But what about when we make the wrong choice? When we take a job based on what we think we need rather than the more fulfilling job that God has waiting for us? What if this family member lost their job because they "chose" the job based on the wrong reasons. What if that friend had to go through a divorce because they "chose" the wrong man or woman? We love free will until it bites us in the tush and then we just love to blame God for it.
If you're going through what has been the greatest trial of your life, let me encourage you to hang in there. Don't blame God. Our everyday choices, not matter how big or small they may seem, direct where we will go in the future and ultimately direct our trials. Will there be trials that come about when there is no reason? When we didn't make a wrong choice? Yes. As much as I would like to say no, the answer is yes. We live under the curse. But God will be there to bring us through to another tomorrow where we can make yet another choice. And always remember that God is never suprised by what we do. He's never suprised when we make a wrong choice. He's seen from the beginning to the end of every choice we will ever make or ever could make. Ahhh choices... I need to go to the beach...
No comments:
Post a Comment