God's Design

  “But my people would not listen to me;
    Israel would not submit to me. 

   So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts
    to follow their own devices.

  “If my people would only listen to me,
    if Israel would only follow my ways,

    how quickly I would subdue their enemies
    and turn my hand against their foes!

~Psalm 81: 11-14 

Psalm 79 and 80 lament and beg for God to come and save His people from their enemies. Three times Psalm 80 asks, "Restore us, God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved." The author desires nothing more than God's favor and pleads with God to remember the covenant He once made with Israel. 

God did not ignore their cries for help. He did not desire them to face trials and hardships but the people would not submit and listen to God. God loved them enough, to give them over to their sin and stubbornness so He could restore them once more. By allowing natural consequences to happen, the people were humbled and made aware of their need for a Savior. 

It is very difficult to watch a loved one go through hard times because of the poor choices they made. It is difficult to allow them to feel pain and brokenness when we so badly want to pick up the pieces and try to fix their problems. God tries time and time again in scripture to bring His people back to Him but if they will not listen, He gives them over to their sin and allows natural consequences to take place so they can come to a place of restoration. 

Today I celebrate God's design. I celebrate our God is with us through our stubbornness and sin ready to restore us when we are willing to reach out and accept His restoration. I celebrate that when we are ready and see our need for Him, He is there ready to rescue, make us new, and give us joy. Our problems do not magically disappear, but the peace and assurance He will see us through gives us the strength we need to face our problems head on. 

I celebrate God's design that in the darkness even a small light shines bright and provides us with the ability to see and navigate our way to safety. Only a God who loved us too much to spend eternity without us would allow us to face immediate consequences to avoid eternal damnation. Praise God hardships cause me to be broken and my brokenness causes me to see Christ. May we all learn from the natural consequences of sin so we cling close to our Savior and His love for us.