Take It Away!

Don't you sometimes wish that God would just take it away?

You know, whatever the "it" is in your life? Wouldn't it be easier if God would just miraculously reach down and snatch it away? Doesn't it make sense that a God who loves us would do that?

Maybe your "it" is a specific temptation.

Wouldn't it be easier if God changed us so that we truly only had eyes for our spouses?

Wouldn't it be easier if God took away the desire to stuff ourselves at each meal?

Wouldn't it be easier if God took away the craving for power that leads us to lie, cheat and steal?

Maybe your "it" is a specific person.

That demanding boss who gets on your nerves.

Those children who drive you crazy.

That spouse who lied to you again.

Maybe your "it" is a specific circumstance.

Unemployed.

Cancer.

Abused.

Alone.

Doesn't God see the pain that you're in? Doesn't God care? Doesn't God want to make it all better?

The answer to those questions is "Yes."

God does see. God does care. And God does want to make it all better.

But He does not always want to make it better by taking away the circumstances and people in our lives.

His purpose is much higher than that.

In the introductory chapters of Judges, God gives the purpose for the events which follow. When Israel was disobedient, they were defeated by enemies, just as God had promised. And those enemies would come in and lead the people of Israel astray, particularly in following after the foreign gods.

Wouldn't it have been easier for God to just wipe out all the enemies and put up a high wall around His people? It would have eliminated their access to foreign gods and ideas. They would have known nothing other than worship of Jehovah.

But God said, "I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way o the LORD as their fathers did, or not" (Judges 2:21-22).

One purpose of the people and circumstances in our lives is to test our obedience. It's easier to obey God when the fence is high and the options are limited. But God wants us to be obedient. Not because He is a tyrant, demanding obedience.

But because our obedience to Him shows our love to Him.

As we obey Him in the difficulties, our relationship to Him grows more intense.

It's easy to give up. Get a divorce. Change your job. Give in to temptation.

But if we love God, we will be obedient. We will work on our marriage. We will learn to trust God in the difficulties at work. We will fight temptation.

And that shows our love. That's what God wants.