Thursday, June 25, 2009

Did God do This?


"What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?"

Job 2:10


No pastor want to get a call at 3:00 a.m. It is never good news. A young man whose life I had watched spiral into success. He had overcome many personal obstacles, and was now married and very successful in his career. However, he accomplished this rise up the ladder leaving behind the faith of his parents. God had very little room in this ride he was on. Although he professed to be a Christian, he had little to do with church or God's people. He was respectful of those who were devout, he simply felt it was not necessary. Until tonight.


Tonight was different. I sat in the darkness of my living room at 3:30 in the morning listening to this young man tell of a toppling career that was now over. Then he told me of infidelity of his wife. This once successful young career man had lost his career and his marriage in less than a month. It was at that moment he asked me a staggering question. "Did God do this?"


Did God do this? I tried to reassure him of God's love for him, but frankly, the question annoyed me. Through the years of success in his career, not once did he ask, "Did God do this? Did God give me a successful career? Did God bless me with this rapid advancement up the ladder?" Was that question ever raised while at the top? While running with the jet set and diving into the party culture, he never once asked about God. Shacking up out of wedlock, God and His principles were never a consideration.


Now that his life was falling to pieces; now that his career and marriage were in shambles, now we blame God for the downfall. If you are not willing to add God to the equation while you are putting your life together, then do not blame Him when it all falls apart. How dare we blame God for destroying a life from which He has been excluded. If we cannot give Him the glory in the rise to the top, we certainly cannot blame Him for the fall.


"Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." Psalm 2:12


Just a thought. Thank you for reading.

1 comment:

  1. great thought, i think of this constantly with my older siblings...but it is something we all tend to do a little bit unless we remind ourselves. thanks for sharing!

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