There was a very popular song in the 1960’s entitled “If I Ruled the World”, where each day was the first day of spring and hearts would sing. It was an idyllic view of what the song writer wished the world would be, reminiscent of the Biblical Garden of Eden. But even in that paradise, Adam and Eve fell for Satan’s spin on God’s perfect goodness, and the reality of sin entered the world. While we can’t change the reality of our adversity, with the Holy Spirit’s help we can change our hearts.
We need to empty ourselves and allow God to recreate us. When reality is viewed from our perspective, we put God in a box in an attempt to confine Him to our desires and dreams. Encumbered by the finite restrictions of our five senses, we try to define God’s existence and interpret His actions according to our limited knowledge of our place in God’s perfect plan for our lives. Brian Jones (Second Guessing God) reminds us that we must exercise faith by trusting God with our hearts and souls, not our hands and eyes. Finally, our impatience waiting for God to act only tends to make the situation worse.
Joni Eareckson Tada (cited by Ann Spangler in The Peace God Promises) encourages us: “When suffering forces us to our knees at the foot of Calvary, we die to self. We cannot kneel there long without releasing our pride and anger, unclasping our dreams and desires. . . In exchange, God imparts power and implants new and lasting hope.” In our Land Between, God wants to establish a relationship of trust. Consider Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
We can never be perfect people, but we have a perfect God.
