Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. She said to Elijah, "What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?" — 1 Kings 17:17-18
There’s nothing like a disaster to reveal our real belief system. Here was hers: God could not truly forgive. The sin she had been trying to minimize or forget was making God more and more angry. God had already taken her husband away. Now He was back. He had sent a messenger to punish her with the deepest hurt she could imagine.
I’m not going to focus on what was wrong with her beliefs. Instead I want to ask a question:
Why does God do this? Why does He take steps to expose our real beliefs? Is it to show us and the whole world what rotten sinners we are? Is it so that He and His buddies can ridicule us for the lies we believe?
I think not. I believe that God brings these vulnerable moments into our lives so that whatever little corner of sanity left in our souls can cry out, "Jesus, I need You!" Then Jesus can stand up, speak to the storm and say, "Peace, be still!"
Jesus means to be experienced in our storms. When He enters those vulnerable places, everything changes.
Be encouraged!
Dwight
Dwight Clough is the author of four Christian books and is an active member of Lake City Church in Madison. This devotional is also available via email and you may review the archives back to 2002. To contact Dwight or Kim, use their contact form. You may also support their ministry.