05Apr16

Judges 10:13-14
Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.

When I was in college I had a friend that was dating this girl. He was head over heels for her but, anyone from the outside could tell that she was bad news. She treated him like a novelty and used him up. She compromised his ideals and consistently took and took and took. But, still he was devoted to her. When we'd try and talk to him about her he would just say, "But, I love her. She needs me." Until one day he found out that she had been cheating on him... again, and that she had decided to be with the other guy. It devastated him. But, he came to the realization that he couldn't force her to love him and ultimately realized that she never deserved his love and affections. Over some time he healed. Then she came back. She needed him. She missed him. She was in trouble. She had gotten pregnant by the other guy and he left her. She needed a real man. But, it was too late. Her character had been shown and my friend was able to say, "no. You made a choice and trusted the wrong man. "

I share this simply because we are that girl a lot of times. We have the love of God. The one who gave all for us just to show his love. Yet, all we do is use and abuse that relationship. We consistently cheat on Him by choosing other gods in our lives and putting created things before the Creator. In this passage God shows us that we do have a choice and He will honor that choice by allow us to put our faith in other things. The problem with that is that when we put our faith in other things we will only have that to rely on when the troubles come. Can we be surprised when God doesn't come running in to save the day when we spend all our time with someone else? Can we be surprised when God doesn't act when we haven't even been bothered to ask? Who are you relying on today?

But, there is good news. Read on. The rest of the passage shows that, unlike my friend, God is so forgiving and so loving and so unafraid of our betrayal that He comes to their rescue when they turn back to Him. He doesn't erase the consequences of their initial choices but, He sets things right and protects His people. Who will you choose to love today?