"Bloom Where You Are Planted"

I find myself thinking about this question often lately, “Why do people reject God?”. Everything I’ve heard over the years sounds something like this; “If God really loved us, He would not let this happen.” “I asked God for _____ and He didn’t come through.” “If God is love, I’m not feeling it.” “If being a Christian looks like them, I don’t want any part of it.”

The question, which carries the weight of eternity, deserves more consideration. It would seem that many of the reasons given have the same thread of rationale woven throughout the arguments. In looking at the circumstances, they have concluded that if they were God they would handle things differently. God has not met their expectations. Proverbs says it like this…”There is a way that seems right to a man”. We consider what we view, what we perceive, what we expect, etc and from that we draw a conclusion. It may be a totally logical solution based on the facts. It may be a totally biased conclusion based on our prejudices. It may be a totally self-protecting conclusion based on missed expectations. Regardless of the conclusion, we come to it because it seems right to us. It makes sense to us at the time.

That thinking says that God should meet our needs as we expect, or we should move onto finding someone or something that we believe will do a better job. The thought is that God should only allow good things to happen to us, or maybe that He should interfere with the laws of nature to prevent natural consequences. Surely if God is not meeting us where we think He should, then we naturally would start to build walls up around our disappointments, pain, frustration, etc. that He is not there for us. Sometimes a seeming unanswered prayer can feel like a personal rejection. We have the idea that love means making our lives easier, giving us what we want or ask for, taking pressure off of us, defending us, meeting our expectation of miracles, etc.

In the movie “Bruce Almighty”, Jim Carrey uses comedy to demonstrate this very human perspective. After being given his “godly” title, it doesn’t take long before he has turned the world sideways with all the unforeseen consequences of his decision making. His decisions seemed right to him at the time, but little did he know that when played out, many other factors would enter in and alter the expected outcome. Hasn’t that always been the risk of making decisions? Determining the “best” answer can seem like an impossible task because it can play out so many different ways. The rest of that verse says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief. Proverbs 14:12-13.” To me it says that our thoughts and decisions are often driven by our short-sighted logic and may bring some superficial happiness, but if we allow ourselves that shallow existence the end result will be far less than we expect or desire.

I suspect that everyone, including Christians, struggle with obeying God’s ways due to an unwillingness to be submitted to yet another voice telling us what to do. Isn’t it natural to resist doing what someone else tells you what to do? But, how much easier is it to do so when that person is someone we know and love. When that someone is someone we know loves us and in whose wisdom we have learned to trust, it is easier. To get to that point where we TRUST Him with the everything’s of our life requires a commitment to setting aside what seems right to a man (self). Some may find it easier to walk away.

If people are looking to Christians to validate that God is real, sadly they will be sorely disappointed. Because the root of disbelief, Christians and non-Christians, can be attributed to a lack of willingness to sincerely pursue God. We can only see the nature of God in people to the degree that they have committed themselves to this pursuit. Walking with God takes a sincerity and devotion that surpasses today. It surpasses our circumstances. It surpasses our understanding. It requires digging in and taking one step at a time, learning who God is and what He has to say to us. Today, tomorrow, next week, next month, and every other day, we must let God into our daily thoughts and actions. It’s a journey that continues each day we walk this earth. There is no shortcut to become Christ-like or getting to know God.

Solomon, whom is known for his wisdom made a mess of his life as he applied his resources to tackle life on his own. At the end of all his efforts he came to this conclusion; “All has been heard; the end of the matter is: Fear God [revere and worship Him, knowing that He is] and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man [the full, original purpose of his creation, the object of God's providence, the root of character, the foundation of all happiness, the adjustment to all inharmonious circumstances and conditions under the sun] and the whole [duty] for every man.” Ecclesiastes 12:13 (Amplified Bible). He’d heard it all, tried it all and realized our lives were purposed by God and for God. Fear God and know that God is. Keep His commandments because this is our purpose. Our walk on this life should not be an objection to God’s providence for us. Yielding to Him will grow character in us. It will be the foundation of our happiness. It will allow us to adjust to the good and bad circumstances found under the sun. This commitment is what makes us whole.

God is calling us all to walk with Him. For some it’s a new walk. For others He is asking for you to dig deeper and pursue holiness daily. Nothing is more important to Him. All of the things we value in life will fade away. This is the one thing that will last for eternity. What are you pursuing?

What is something you have learned that helps you in your daily pursuit of God?