Where are you, Lord?

Pastor Mark Jeske

How you can you live with the disconnect?

You know what I mean—the gap between what God’s Word promises you and what you see in your world. You hear that God always takes care of his children, that the angels surround the believers to prevent harm, that there will be divine justice, and that evildoers will not get away with their crimes. That’s what you hear. But what you see is that believers suffer some terrible disasters.

What you see also is that skeptics and scoffers seem to be doing even better than believers because they are not “handicapped” by God’s rules of love, fairness, integrity, and personal morality. The prophet Jeremiah ground his teeth at the disconnect: “You are always righteous, Lord, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?” (Jeremiah 12:1).

Why do swindlers seem to get to enjoy their millions? Why do so many Christians live in poverty? You know, many of the psalms and prophecies in Scripture do not end with a tidy solution where God simply fixes everything. Sometimes the dilemma is left hanging. In our broken world, there still is much injustice as we wait for Jesus Christ’s return.

In desperation Jeremiah cried out to God for relief. You know, maybe that’s exactly the response God wanted.

Devotion used by permission of Time of Grace®. For more information, visit timeofgrace.org