It makes no sense to beg God to protect us if we really believe who He says He is. He shows us over and over just how much He loves His creation, and how eager He is to defend and bless His children.
Whenever we find ourselves in the act of pleading and imploring Him, overcome with a sense of helplessness, it’s a sign that we’ve gotten a bit off track. We’ve lost sight of His character. He is good! If we, being evil, can give good gifts to our children, won’t our Father in heaven treat us even better and give us all good things? That’s the logic Jesus invites us to use in times like these. (Read Luke 7)
Then, you ask, why do I end up feeling abandoned and unprotected by God, even after praying so hard and so long? There could be a variety of reasons for that. But one big one, is that our own actions and choices block Him from being the protector that He wants to be. We open breaches in the walls of our lives by our own choices. We can pray and beg for His mercies on one hand, and then invite the devil and his destruction to march right in and take possession of the same things we’re praying so hard to hold onto. It sounds ridiculous, even insane, but that’s what human nature drives us to do. Our selfish emotions sabotage us, and because we are blind and lost sheep without God, we can linger in that state for ages and end up blaming God for being so distant.
“How shall a young man keep his way pure?” says Psalm 119:9, “By keeping it according to Your word.” If we don’t constantly refresh our minds with God’s word, we will veer off into detours and ruts that are hidden traps of the devil to keep us out of communion with God. Sinful thoughts and selfish desires settle in, even while we pray and attend church activities, trying to fight with one fist while waving the devil into our lives with the other hand. As troubles and trials beat down on us, we can form our own false doctrine that God likes to see us defeated by the devil, because we can’t figure out any other reason for our sorry state. Instead of being our loving Savior, God turns into a sadistic tyrant. We’d never openly admit it, but the way we end up begging for help as if we’ve been kicked to the curb by an angry judge reveals what we really believe about Him. It’s like worshipping a demon. And with that kind of mindset, pure faith is virtually impossible.
The Fast of Daniel is almost here, a great time to reassess what image you actually have of Him. Do you see Him as deeply loving and eager to bless you? Then blaming Him for your lack of blessings makes no sense at all. It’s not Him – it’s you. Reassess your own choices, search for the chinks in your armor, the breeches in your walls, and begin rebuilding your relationship with Him.
If you find yourself blaming God, asking, “Where are You? Don’t You even care?” red lights and sirens should go off in your head immediately. A false image of Him has been erected in your mind, and you need to do whatever you can to regain the right perspective. He loves you so much, that He died for you! He doesn’t abandon His children, He fights for them and defeats their enemies for His glory.
For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you, and to defeat your enemies before you. Therefore, your camp must be holy, so that He does not see any indecent thing among you, and turn away from you. (Deuteronomy 23:14 MEV)
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