No arrogance...

"Lord, why do You stand so far away?  Why do You hide in times of trouble?"

Psalm 10:1

I have a short point today, and it is this: is it the Lord who has moved to make the distance between He and us "so far away?"  Is it He who hides when times get tough?  Or are we guilty of separating ourselves, through our own actions and choices, and therefore dampening our sensitivity to His voice?

We humans are so arrogant; so fickle; so awful.  We really believe that God walks away from us when times get tough, and that we are left to fend for ourselves, and that we succeed all on our own.  We actually assume that we are capable just as we are, right now, to overcome trials with little to no assistance from above.  For that impudence, it is a wonder that God doesn't wash us all away immediately.

Granted, not all human beings think this way all the time... but if you think that you never do, then you are lying to yourself.  We all do get that full of ourselves every once in a while, and God is faithful to provide some circumstance to bring us back down to earth soon after.  But think about this for a moment: in those troubled times, isn't He closer than ever? 

So something goes wrong, and you feel like God abandoned you, and then you break down at some point and pray.  (Novel thought, I know, but people run right past it most of the time... including me.)  And as you pray, you begin to focus your perception and whittle away the nonsense that exists in the situation.  And then, as you clear the path to the answer, you remove your self-inflicted fog and see that God has been right where He always was the entire time.  You see, He is not hiding; in those times when you trust the world for answers, you lose focus and cannot see Him.  And then you feel bad for doubting, you recommit and move forward in your walk, and eventually this cycle will play out again.  The beautiful thing is that when next it comes, it will be shorter than before!  And this is a repetitive pattern for us all... how quickly you get down to an instinctive response of focused prayer is your choice.

Take a moment today to pray... really pray from your deepest point of love and gratitude for all that God has done and continues to do for you.  Thank Him for always being there, and admit that you are the one who walks away when it seems you are alone.  It's not easy, but this level of openness leads to enhanced Spiritual maturity.  And, I promise, you will honor the Lord in growing so!

God bless you all!!!