Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

“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 servantswhich 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.