Where Is Your God?
Today’s Passage – Psalm 75 – 79
Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed. (Psalm 79:10)
Have you ever asked the question, “where is God?” I have often heard the people of this world ask this question when bad things happen on the earth. They will say that if there was a loving God, He would not allow all of this evil in the world. I have also hear some of the people of God pose the same thought when they or somebody they care about are experiencing hardship in life. However, the context of the verse written above is a little bit different. It seems that the psalmist here has penned these words at a time in Israel’s history when they have suffered a horrible defeat to the Babylonians (around 586 BC) which included the complete destruction of Jerusalem along with the people of Israel being taken into captivity. Here the psalmist is pleading with God to avenge them of their adversaries. He tells God that their enemies are mocking them, saying that their God must either not care or must be absent altogether. The irony of the whole situation is that God actually “raised up” these Babylonian attackers for the express purpose of getting the attention of His people who had seriously departed from following Him.
My thought for this morning, however, is that I wonder how many of of the people around us: our neighbors, our co-workers, our family members, etc. can see God in our lives. Can they see the reality of our faith working throughout our day to day living. Maybe they are tolerant and even polite to us regarding what we say about our faith; but I wonder sometimes if they aren’t secretly thinking, “where is their God?” Can they see the reality of God in our lives? No wonder we are having a difficult time reaching the people around us. If God isn’t real to us, how can he reveal Himself to others through us. I believe we have a tremendous responsibility and an awesome opportunity to show people our God through our lives.
1 Show them God by living out your faith. If you really believe God, then live according to the principles found in His Word. Walk with Him daily. Yield to His Spirit and His will. Separate from the things that are not apart of His perfect plan for your life.
2 Show them God by loving the people around you. God loves people, unlovable people just like you. Demonstrate the reality of God by demonstrating God’s love to people. Look for ways to express the love of God to the lost world around you. Don’t take separation beyond where God intended it to be. He wants us to impact their world; not only with the truth, but also with compassion.
The greatest compliment a person could give me would be for them to say that they saw the reality of God in my life.
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with 4 comments.
Wow! I really needed this! As most can agree, working in a secular job everyday can be very trying at times. Discouragement comes easily when working with the lost….but by far the best days are the ones when I have had the oppurtunity to share Christ. This passage convicts me about how vital it is to be a full-time Christian, on the good AND bad days.
Your right Preacher. As a young christian I saw christian families going through really tough times. I remember when a mom died, that the husband and children were at Sunday’s service. A husband left his wife and she never missed a beat. What a testimony these and others were to me and they did not know I was watching. There is always someone watching.
I see everyday people putting a question mark on God. Sometimes, my own faith is weak and I just shake my head and wonder..how?? But, I allow my eyes to be open and find God.
God is real and He is forever ruling.
God has blessed us with free-will. We can choose whether to believe in Him or not. The choice is up to us. People say well how do you know there is a God? the answer is faith…and you get one of two answers..either one showing interest of this idea of faith or someone tossing their hands up in the air and giving you a weird look.
Sadly, sometimes it takes something tragic to happen in an individuals life for them to find God.
I always say to myself, having faith is takin the first step without seeing the staircase..and that is having faith in God in accordance with my life.
I love believing in God, I love praying and worshiping God and deep down I wish everyone would to…why not? right.
Amen!!! Brian L.