WHEN YOUR LIFE DOES NOT SEEM TO WORK

We all have ideas about what we want our lives to be. Much is based on things that inspire us, and wishful thinking. I have never met anyone whose life turned out exactly as they had imagined, or better than they had imagined. ALL of our lives are different than we had planned, and sometimes we have sorrow and regrets for things we did or did not do. All actions have consequences, Newton taught us that, but the unpleasant twists and turns of our live does not indicate that God is punishing you any more than falling down and skining you knee means that God put gravity into effect just to get back at YOU. It would be rather narcissistic to think that everything that happens in this world is because of you. It's just silly.

Many times I have heard people ask, "Is God punishing me for my sins?" There is a component of guilt within each of us the drives us and keeps us guessing about when the other shoe will drop, when people will discover what we are REALLY like, or that the skeletons in our closets will be uncovered. No one lives without guilt and anxiety over their actions, choices, responses, decisions, and desires.

Some forms of guilt are actually good. Feeling guilt over true moral sin is mandatory, as far as God is concerned, and St. Paul talks about those whose consciences are burned over - scarred, cauterized . . . as with a hot iron. God has designed our conscience. It is the way that he has written the moral law on our hearts. Conscience is good - but consciences can be twisted, distorted, burn, ruined, mangled and shredded, just as can anything else in the human makeup. Remorse is not always bad. Even in the courtroom, judges look for the offending criminal to express authentic remorse. If they do, sometimes the judge will lighten the sentence. Unfortulately not many criminals do.

One general thing to keep in mind is that the kind of petty admonishments and setbacks that people attribute to the punishment of God are neither worthy of his character or ours. God is not petty. He is not a disgruntled parent, or frustrated deity. He is not demanding or unreasonable. While it is true that judgments await each of us at the end of this life, and as important as it is to take this seriously, God does not go around punishing people, willy-nilly, in this life. He has FAR BETTER things to do than to micro-manage your life or mine.

What "better things?" How about redemption? God is not interested in counting up all your screw-ups and then bullying you around for them. No. God is interested in redemption, and that is what your life will become for you, if you let it. God is gracious, not counting our sins against us, so that he might reconcile us to himself, and by so doing, bring us to complete redemption. This is pure Bible teaching.

So, reject the notion that you have committed the unpardonable sin, because you probably haven't. Anyone having committed the unpardonable sin wouldn't give a damn, that's one of the things that makes it unpardonable.

Bottom line. God is not punishing you - although he may be trying to teach you something, but he does that out of concern and love for you, not because he is ticked off at you.

The advice of the Good-Book is to draw near to God, to trust in him, to know that he is your loving Papa. SO - run to him, and enjoy his presence and kindness, ESPECIALLY when your life does not seem to work. You will fine solace in him. You will feel his touch and his affirmation. Just trust him in the midst of your chaos, and know that he is not punishing you. Let it rest. God is FOR you, not against you. Will you choose to believe this? I sincerely hope you do.