| “I gave them this command: ‘Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you.’ But they did not listen or pay attention; instead they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.” |
| —Jeremiah 7:23-24. |
Blame it on a poor regular classroom teacher, poor class makeup, or even my inability to teach them in my music class, this fourth grade made it impossible for me to deal with them! Even though I loved this age group the best, this particular class refused to allow me to teach.
I had so many fun games and songs to use. I knew that if they had only given me a chance, they would have loved my class and learned a lot at the same time. Every singing game that involved holding hands in a circle ended in some kind of tug of war or refusal to participate. Games with a ball ended in someone trying to “get another classmate.”
These children preferred to goof around, waste class time watching each other play, and generally refused to enjoy the lessons I developed for their best interest. I modified my lessons to do everything I could to turn them around. And then, they had the audacity to complain that they were bored!
Do we treat our Lord the same way? Do we refuse to accept His plans for us and generally make it impossible for Him to deal with us? Do we miss the good things He wants for us because we think we have a better idea?
Sometimes, we stubbornly hold on to things that do nothing to help us, or give us joy. We fight against those alongside us whom He has given to us for the sake of His good purposes. Then we wonder why our lives disappoint us, and the Lord seems so far away.
If this attitude describes us, we must return to the Lord and His mercy. We need to promptly acknowledge His righteous and loving purposes. And, we need to take to heart the message of these verses from Micah 7:18-19:
Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
