Do you ever WRANGLE with God?

Candidly, I do and imagine that you do too.  We struggle, at times, with the many injustices that occur in this fallen world and we observe significant human pain and suffering.

So, how do we appropriately respond?  What shall we and can we do? How do we reconcile the divergence of what we see and the sense of justice that’s in all of our hearts?

Psalm 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,

nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-

then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”

Irene has enjoyed several good days.  She’s wrestled with the nausea and fatigue but faithfully plods through the days and is actually tackling the yard with a vengeance!!  She’s keeping the house in order (and that’s a tough job with me being around!!!!!!!) and is thoroughly enjoying the longer days of sunlight and spring weather!

In Psalm 91 God promises to save us from “pestilence”, defined as “a serious infectious disease” and used twice (Verses 3, 6).  God also promises to protect us from harm and says that no disaster will go near our tent (Verse 10).

So, how do we respond when the hideous disease, amyloidosis, afflicts an unassuming victim, causes harm and enters the tent?  Especially when the disease strikes one who is walking in trust and obedience as a child of God?

Has God lied?

Has God fooled us with promises in His Word that are not true and can’t be relied upon after all?

How do we reconcile this apparent disparity without simply reducing our thoughts to rationalization??

So, first of all, as finite beings, let me be clear that I don’t think we’ll ever be able to figure out an INFINITE God and there are many questions that will never be fully reconciled this side of heaven …. there’s a dynamic tension that will exist until there’s a New Heaven and New Earth.  Besides that, if we did “figure it all out” God would probably change the circumstances just to remind us that He is in control!!

Mark Twain once said that it wasn’t the parts of the Bible that he didn’t understand that bothered him but, rather, he was deeply bothered by those parts of the Bible that he did understand.

For me, I reconcile the apparent disparity through the lens of ALL of scripture while maintaining a very HIGH VIEW of God …. and believing that He is Loving, Just and Trustworthy.  We maintain a high view of God but realize that our vision is finite and blurry.  We never see the Big Picture as God does!!

Here are just a few thoughts and scripture references that help us maintain PERSPECTIVE:

He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Matthew 5:45b

Ask WHAT, not WHY. In other words, the WHY can never be fully vetted but the WHAT can be better understood and applied.  What is God teaching me?  What am I to do next?

We believe that there can be redemptive purpose for illness; specifically to bring Glory to God.  Illness exposes the reality of our frailty and confirms that our years on earth are but a mist.  (James 4:14)

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.
Hebrews 4:15
(Jesus sympathizes with our weaknesses because He knows we are WEAK!!!!!!!)

Praise the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all his benefits –
Who forgives all your sins
And heals all your diseases
Psalm 103:2-3
(If there were not diseases in the world the Lord wouldn’t have to heal people of them)

Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.
Ecclesiastes 12:13

Irene models faithfulness and more easily reconciles these issues.  She knows God, obediently walks with Him and trusts Him wholeheartedly ….

When I wrangle with God I remind myself that HE is God; I am the created being.  God does not lie and he doesn’t fool us with words that He won’t fulfill.

And beside all of that, who am I to challenge the “Loving Sovereign”, who gives us life and designs us to serve …. not be served.

Thanks for caring.

Caminando con Fé

Dave