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“We can’t blame the Father when we end up in a pigpen!”

A thought by Chris Hodge from his book, The Daniel Dilemma: How to Stand Firm and Love Well in a Culture of Compromise (Kindle Locations 2544). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

But so many time we do, don’t we? 

Chris says, “When we walk away from God, we leave the safety of God. He will let us, because he loves us enough to give us free will. But when we choose to leave his protection, we open ourselves up to all kinds of things. He doesn’t create tragedy and instigate problems—we do. The miracle is that he’s willing to use the consequences of our sin to draw us back to him and into the safety of his arms.”

He says, “So when we find ourselves in the midst of such chaos, what do we do? The same thing we do when we’re driving and realize we’ve lost our way. The same solution we use when we’re hiking and discover we’re no longer on the right path. We turn around and seek the right direction. We turn away from the wrong direction and instead turn toward God. The good news is that he’s waiting for us. He loves us and wants us back home with him, and the way back to him is the same as it’s always been.

“We see this way outlined in God’s response to another generation of Israelites who had rejected him. As a result of their pride and rebellion, they found themselves plagued by locusts, which led to a famine. Is there any more concise metaphor for where we are today? We have neglected our relationship with God for so long that we’re now in the midst of a spiritual and moral famine with no relief in sight. No relief, that is, until we do the same four things that God told the Israelites to do:

“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 Chron. 7:14)”

Just quit blaming, and humble yourself, pray, seek God and then turn back to Him.

Don’t you think that would be a great thing for us as a nation and as individuals to do today?
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