THE GAMES GOD DOESN'T PLAY
Shall I bring to the point of birth and not deliver? Isa. 66:9, N.E.B.
"He never meant to marry me! He just wanted to see how far I would go!" The young woman spoke ruefully to her friend. Yet she herself had just "conned" her younger sister into doing a job for her by promising to take her to town when she was finished--a promise she never intended to keep.
We live in a world of disappointed hopes and broken promises. The "game of life" seems full of tricks and illusions. Many people become cynical, others despondent, still others doggedly cunning. This tragedy of broken and calloused hearts causes unspeakable grief to the heart of our faithful heavenly Father. He wants to assure us of His good intentions concerning us, but we have acquired through our relations with others a wariness that can render us faith-crippled.
Have you secretly wondered if God is ever going to come through with all that He has promised? Is He interested in an isolated experience called "unwavering faith" apart from the concrete benefits of being in an ongoing relationship with Him? As we come to know Him, we begin to understand that He is utterly trustworthy. He enters into no "game-playing" with us. His promises are as good as He Himself, because in essence, in every promise He is offering to give us Himself.
Our text for today is one of my favorites, and speaks directly to this issue: "Shall I bring to the point of birth and not deliver?" Our Father is too kind to build up our hopes only to dash them to pieces just to see if we will still believe in Him! Though life's situations sometimes seem to support that He does just this, we may confidently know that this is not so. We have been living in a world distorted by separation from Him. Because of His regard for every man's freedom, often things happen as a result of other people's choices that are neither His will nor our own.
We may be sure, when disappointment comes, that the last chapter of this earth's history has yet to be written. We may remain undaunted in our aspirations, unthwarted as we stretch toward our goals. It is our privilege to know that someday all the restraints of this life, all the game-playing, will pass. Personally, I think God is just plain excited about the prospects!
Shall I bring to the point of birth and not deliver? Isa. 66:9, N.E.B.
"He never meant to marry me! He just wanted to see how far I would go!" The young woman spoke ruefully to her friend. Yet she herself had just "conned" her younger sister into doing a job for her by promising to take her to town when she was finished--a promise she never intended to keep.
We live in a world of disappointed hopes and broken promises. The "game of life" seems full of tricks and illusions. Many people become cynical, others despondent, still others doggedly cunning. This tragedy of broken and calloused hearts causes unspeakable grief to the heart of our faithful heavenly Father. He wants to assure us of His good intentions concerning us, but we have acquired through our relations with others a wariness that can render us faith-crippled.
Have you secretly wondered if God is ever going to come through with all that He has promised? Is He interested in an isolated experience called "unwavering faith" apart from the concrete benefits of being in an ongoing relationship with Him? As we come to know Him, we begin to understand that He is utterly trustworthy. He enters into no "game-playing" with us. His promises are as good as He Himself, because in essence, in every promise He is offering to give us Himself.
Our text for today is one of my favorites, and speaks directly to this issue: "Shall I bring to the point of birth and not deliver?" Our Father is too kind to build up our hopes only to dash them to pieces just to see if we will still believe in Him! Though life's situations sometimes seem to support that He does just this, we may confidently know that this is not so. We have been living in a world distorted by separation from Him. Because of His regard for every man's freedom, often things happen as a result of other people's choices that are neither His will nor our own.
We may be sure, when disappointment comes, that the last chapter of this earth's history has yet to be written. We may remain undaunted in our aspirations, unthwarted as we stretch toward our goals. It is our privilege to know that someday all the restraints of this life, all the game-playing, will pass. Personally, I think God is just plain excited about the prospects!
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