In our small group last week, we talked about how God sees things versus how we see them.  The dilemma many have is when loved ones who don’t understand something or things don’t go their way, for some reason they immediately blame God.  In years past, we had a standing joke in our house when the two youngest kids were growing up.  Since they bounced between our house and their mom’s house at will, we might often only have one at a time on any given day.  If something went wrong, whoever wasn’t there that day would get the blame.  So if Courtney was there and there were dirty dishes in the sink, when I asked who left dirty dishes in the sink, the immediate answer of Jim and Courtney was, “Cristofer did it!”  If both kids were present the standard answer was, “Gidget did it!”  Gidget was our little 4 pound Yorkshire terrier!  Even though we all knew it wasn’t Cristofer or Gidget in that case, it made us laugh and get over the frustration of dirty dishes while Courtney got the message to pick up after herself.

Although it was all fun and games there really are people in this world who feel the need to blame others for their problems.  If each one of us is totally honest with ourselves, upon reflection and introspection, we can probably most positively point a lot of the issues in our lives causing us pain to decisions we have made at one time or another.  It may have been an attitude we allowed to take over, a place we went that we knew we shouldn’t be or maybe words we spoke that were damaging or untrue.  Sometimes the consequences to our bad decision making in the past take years to surface and cause us angst later.  Of course, this is not to say that everything is our fault as there are definite times that our lives go off course because of something someone else did and not us.  However, I would challenge you to at least review the situation objectively the next time you start to blame someone else for your shortcomings.  Chances are, if we would have chosen our words more wisely or put on an attitude of love instead of the one we chose, situations in our lives would be much different today.  If we do decide to go ahead and blame someone else and they find out about it down the road, we’re in trouble all over again if the accusation was not true. Right?  So isn’t it easier to just blame God?  He doesn’t talk back or tell others He didn’t do it.  That may be what some think.  However, my personal thought is. “Why is it so difficult for us to admit we are wrong, just apologize and move on?”  I will personally respect you more if you just tell the truth and not drag someone else into it.

We were on a road trip last week to go to a funeral 2 ½ hours away from home.  I was trying to take pictures of the sunrise to put on FaceBook since it is rare for me to see a sunrise anymore.  I guess I thought it might impress some of my friends who NEVER see a sunrise!  I had a Target ad on my lap because I was clipping coupons and as I was getting my camera ready to take my photo, a section of the ad caught my eye in my camera view.  The ad read, “rusted favor.”  I thought what does that mean?  As I moved the camera around, it became a game (because this is what we with A.D.D. do to entertain ourselves!) to see what other things I could pull from the statement on the ad.  As I moved the camera around I got, “rites, vings ne roof and trust super, all und.”  None of this made sense because I was only seeing part of the message.  The real ad read, “Trusted favorites. Superb Savings. All under one roof.”

So who do I blame for this terrible ad that makes no sense when I only see bits and pieces through my viewfinder?  Should I write to Target and tell them their ad is terrible and stupid?  That seems crazy right?  In my mind it is just as crazy to blame God for things in our lives we don’t understand or can’t possibly see the big picture of from our vantage point.  God didn’t create us to be God.  He only created us to be like God.  Therefore, we can’t always see why things are happening the way they are or understand how they all work together for our good.  That’s where we just have to have faith and trust the One Who created us.  He sees the whole picture and knows exactly what is best for us.

So when you simply don’t understand or question something, don’t immediately lash out at God.  Trust that He’s watching over you and sees everything in a way you can’t even begin to imagine.  He only created us to live like Jesus with a faith and belief that God loves us and really does have our best interest at heart.  Following Jesus’ example, we are reminded that He didn’t blame us for sinning and causing Him to have to suffer and die a painful death on the cross.  Instead, He didn’t question what He had to do.  He trusted God and allowed Him to guide His path to great victory.

What have you been upset about lately?  Have you prayed and prayed and nothing seems to be going your way?  Did you get mad at God because He isn’t giving you what you asked for today?  Perhaps He knows something you don’t know.  I challenge you to stop right now and ask God to forgive you.  Then start today with a fresh and renewed faith knowing that our loving Father Who sees the whole picture, is watching over you today.

Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

1 Corinthians 2:9  But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”