Don't Play the Blame Game!

 "If you don't do your part, don't blame God."  - Billy Sunday

We sometimes think problems which we deal with today are exclusive only to our time and age. Nothing could be further from the truth!

When the Jewish exiles returned to the land of Israel in 520 B.C, the temple still lay in ruins (Isaiah 63:18; Isaiah 64:8-12), but its rebuilding had been prophesied (Isaiah 56:6-8).

However, prior to the Exile, Israel had problems with idolatry (Isaiah 57:1-13), hypocrisy (Isaiah 58), inequity (Isaiah 59:1-8); and spiritual deadness (Isaiah 64:1-7).

And before the restored community would be admitted into the religious community, these issues needed to be addressed.

During their exile, the people grew frustrated with God because they felt that He wasn't listening to their prayers, or noticing that they were fasting. "What else did He want from them?" they wondered.

They felt that they were doing their part, but God was simply ignoring them. "Why weren't they saved from the hands of their captors?" 

Notice how they blamed God for their predicament. They prayed and fasted, but to no avail. Nothing changed. They were still being held by their enemies.

They had trouble seeing that God wasn't to blame for their sad situation. They were where they were because of their own fault and no one else's.

I refer back to the problems mentioned above: idolatry, hypocrisy, inequity, and spiritual deadness. Why..? All of them are sins!

God never stopped trying to help the people. It was their sin that held Him back (Psalm 5:4). They put up a big barricade that blocked God's mercy from coming through.

Sin can obstruct or impede God's mercies from reaching us, like a wall that separates us and Him. It makes us focus on worldly pleasures and reject God’s blessings.

Sin can anger Him so that He hides His face from us. It may also interfere with our prayers being able to reach God.

The more we mess with sin, the more trouble we make for ourselves and our relationship with Him.

We shouldn't expect God to put up with us while we continue sinning without remorse, should we?

When things don't go the way we feel they should, don't blame God. Sin is more than likely the culprit, and we need to deal with it before God can deal with us!

Scripture: Romans 3:23; Romans 2:1; Proverbs 19:3; Proverbs 19:3; Ecclesiastes 7:29

Prayer: Dear Lord, when sin seeks to overtake me, please hear my prayers for help. Only Your powerful strength can rescue me, amen.

Bless you always,

Brielle