February 10: Psalm 74:1-3

Key Verse: Psalm 74:1
O God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smoulder against the sheep of your pasture?

Devotion:
What goes through your head when things go wrong in your life? I know many of us turn and blame God for either forgetting about us or for allowing these bad things to happen to us! I would like you to take a step back and look at the people around you – not just the Christians or your friends, but all the people around you. When a flood happens, does it not affect your friends and your enemies? When people get sick and have to go into hospital, are they just your enemies, or does this happen to you and your friends too?

Bad things happen to all of us because we all live in this sinful world. It is not God lashing punishment upon us for doing wrong or forgetting about us because we have not done something right – stuff just happens, and it happens all around us! It is us who have the change of view on what is happening and why it is happening because we assume God is going to place a hedge of protection around us from all bad things such as debt, disease and natural disasters.

If we listen closely to God, He may well be telling us what to do to avoid these sort of things in our lives, but sometimes we have to go through these bad things just as the people around us go through them. It is part of our education and growth in wisdom and spirituality. God is always there and is always looking out for us – the world just does not care one way or the other…

Do not give up on God just because something bad has happened in your life. Do not give up just because you think you don’t deserve it – nobody deserves bad things, not even the bad people. God will throw light on the bad things we do to try and educate us into doing the right things for Him, but He does not level us with a flood just because we did something bad. We live in this world and we have to put up with the good and the bad things which happen – but every step of the way we can know God is with us and is able to give us the strength to get through the bad times...

Points to Ponder:
When was the last time you blamed God?

When was the last time your praised God?