What Does God Have Against Me?
READ: Exodus 14:13-14 & Matthew 6:25-34
I strolled into school early that morning and ran up to the locker room. I couldn't wait to see if I had made final cuts for basketball. I had worked so hard.
Finally, I got a hold of the list. Unfortunately, it wasn't at all what I had expected.
"Wait a minute," I thought to myself. "How could Joe make last cuts over me? He doesn't put in nearly as much effort as I do. I was on the team all the other years. Worst of all, he does all sorts of bad stuff. He drinks and curses and all other sorts of things. I do my best to be a Christian. My name should be on that list. What does God have against me?"
It took awhile, but I finally remembered an incident from when I was younger. I was 7 years old and wanted a new bike for my 8th birthday. When I didn't get it, I was very upset and thought that God was mad at me or even hated me. When my mom saw how upset I was, she told me that God doesn't hold anything against anyone. He only wants what is best for us. She reminded me how God provides everything all the time, even without our asking. She used the example of how God provides water and nutrients for all of the fish in the sea. They couldn't survive without it. God does it all for those fish. Then she said, "If God can do all that for the fish, won't he give us everything we need?"
That's a hard lesson when you hurt, but we know it's true. God holds nothing against us; He loves us! When we don't get what we want, we have to remember His wisdom. He will give us what's best for us. After all, He gave His only Son for us.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT: How do we know that God holds nothing against us? What can we do when we really are let down by something? What will we want to do when we remember all that God does for us?
PRAYER SUGGESTIONS: Ask that God remind us of His blessings. Thank God for all that He does for us. Ask God to comfort you in hard times.