When we resist God’s reminders
Posted at Reformation Scotland:
From the Bible we know that whatever events occur in our experience, good or bad, routine or startling, they are all reminders from God to come closer to Him and turn our backs more comprehensively on sin. This principle holds good not only for individuals but also larger communities including nations. Our nation has had a summer of bad weather, with drought in some places meaning a poor harvest, while many domestic and international problems persist whatever efforts are made to tackle them. Our helplessness to do anything about the weather should make us depend more heavily on God, and our inability to solve our own problems should make us apply to Him for wisdom. However, when God sends difficulties and our attempts to improve our situation keep being frustrated, although it should prompt us to repent and turn to God all over again, we often respond in the opposite way. We instead persist in our sinful ways and ignore God’s interest and involvement in our situation. This is not because it is difficult to discern what God wants — just repentance — but because we prefer our sinning to His holiness. As George Hutcheson points out in the following updated extract, until grace intervenes, we commit ourselves to a vicious cycle of a thrawn, obstinate response leading to more trouble and misery, leading to more obstinacy. For ourselves and others, both as individuals and as members of society, we can only appeal to the God of grace to change our hearts so that, on experiencing yet another problem, we take it as an invitation to return to Him to restore us and bless us.God’s challenge
By the prophet Amos the Lord makes three accusations as against His people. Firstly, they are committing cruel and covetous oppression (Amos 4:1); secondly, they are idolatrous (v.4–5); and here, thirdly, they show incorrigibleness and impenitency (vv.6–11).
For their idolatry and other sins, God had inflicted many judgements to reclaim them, yet they did not return to Him, but persisted obstinately in their wicked courses.
The judgments and corrections which they had thus abused are listed in Amos 4:6–11. And yet to all these, and every one of them, is subjoined the fact that they made no right use of any one of them.
What can we learn from this whole challenge in general?