My faith is strong...isn't it?
Judge not, that you be not judged
Today is a confessional for me. I have been judgmental of others. Not directly, not in their face, not intentionally, but judgmental nonetheless. Let me explain.
I have several Christian friends who are struggling with real challenges - I mean real challenges, major life issues. I am supportive of these friends and I pray for them frequently - I love them; however, deep in my mind I sometimes wonder about their feelings. Why are they so worried? Why are they so depressed? Don’t they know that God is in control? Don’t they understand Romans 8:28?
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
No matter what is going on, if you love God then God has your back….everything that happens will work together for good. As the Bible states in Luke 12:29, we are not to worry:
29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor mbe worried.
So, there I sit, feeling bad for my friends, praying for them, having compassion for them, but at the same time feeling - dare I say it - better than them, because I ‘know’ if it were me I would be handling it better. I know the scriptures and I know I would be more faithful. Typing this makes me sick - I cannot believe I have felt this way (maybe you have too?). But I have had these feelings….I am not proud of having them….but the fact remains that I have had them.
Well, let me tell you how well I live the scriptures. Let me tell you about how faithful I am in my life. As some of you know, I am in between jobs. I recently accepted a new position and it was to start this coming Monday. Well, they called me yesterday and said everything is a go except that I don’t start this Monday but the next Monday. No big deal. Just another week off, right? God has this and it is nothing but a tiny hiccup. That is how I should have handled it, that is how a faithful person would handle the situation…but no. How about this: What is going on? Are they changing their minds? What could go wrong during this next week that might mess it all up? What can I do? Is there anything I can do?
In my angst I expressed my concerns to Melissa (the bride) and what was her response? “Hey, another week of vacation” and “it is all in God’s plan”. I quickly retorted, yeah, but what if something happens and this thing falls through because of this delay? What does Melissa say? “Well, if that happens then I guess this wasn’t what God wanted for us.”
If you had hit me with a baseball bat and I would have been less startled. What hit me - like a ton of bricks - was my hypocrisy. Here I am worried about nothing, absolutely nothing. There is zero reason for me to think this opportunity is at risk, yet I am worried. But I have friends, friends who are really suffering, who have experienced true loss, and I sit there and wonder how they cannot have more faith? Why can’t they just trust in God and in His plan. Shame on me.
It can be very easy to fall in to the trap of thinking you have this faith thing totally in hand - that you get it, that your walk with God is almost perfect. Remember, this my friends, we are all fallen. Each and everyone of us is fallen. And sometimes God provides us with a reminder of how fallen we are and how much we need Him. I thank God for the wake up call He gave me today.
We are called to repent, and I have repented and ask for God’s forgiveness for my hypocritical thoughts. Praise be to God that we have a Savior who promises to forgive our sins as long as we trust in Him and repent.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
I hope you will forgive me too. I also hope, more than for your forgiveness, that my wakeup call might wake you up as well.