But God Sees Our Confusion- Lent 31, 2021

Few things are harder to accept than trying to play by the rules, live righteous and holy lives, do good to others, loving them even if they’re enemies, and yet to see your life fall apart. Adding insult to injury, one wonders about God when one is suffering but evildoers still seem to flourish.

I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced a season when God dealt you blow after blow, deaths, losses of all kinds, all while you were trying to do what’s right, but having experienced that in my own life, I’ve learned some things. God knows you’re confused. God sees you wrestling with it. God sees the pain and the frustration. God understands how circumstances can create doubt. But God honors our perseverance in trusting Him.

Job knew better than most how confusing it is when only God sees the full picture and we only see a part.

Job cried out, Job 23:2 “Even today my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning. 3 If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling! … 13 “But he stands alone, and who can oppose him? He does whatever he pleases. 14 He carries out his decree against me, and many such plans he still has in store. 15 That is why I am terrified before him; when I think of all this, I fear him. 16 God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me. 17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers my face. Job 24:1 “Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment? Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?

Do you feel like there’s no justice in this world? Just hold on…

Lord, when we’re confused and don’t know where to turn, we ask that by Your mercy, You will be everywhere we look. May we see evidence of Your loving care in every moment. Help us to know it in our core as part of the very fabric of our lives and character. Helps us not to give up hoping, never to give up trusting You, and desiring nothing more than wanting to know You more, and wanting to see righteousness prevail. Help us to know You will make all things right and give us confidence to persevere even though we are afraid. Help us not to question the Almighty or quarrel with our Maker. Rather, give us rest and peace in knowing You. Oh, that we would know the pure essence of trust. For Your glory, Amen.

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If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014.
Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations. We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17.
ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ. It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.