Walking With Christ

Romans 8:31  What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?(ESV)

Lamentations 3:1–9  (1)I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; (2)he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; (3)surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long.  (4)He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones; (5)he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation; (6)he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago.  (7)He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has made my chains heavy; (8)though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer; (9)he has blocked my ways with blocks of stones; he has made my paths crooked.(ESV)

“If God is for us, who can be against us?”  It’s one of the most comforting questions in Scripture.

But what happens when the person who seems to be against us is God?

The writer of Lamentations didn’t describe God as distant.  He described God as blocking his way, closing every path, and turning His hand against him.  He couldn’t move forward.  He couldn’t find another direction.  Even his prayers seemed unable to pass through.

This was more than fear caused by God’s closeness.  It felt like God was actively opposing him.

There are moments when every door closes, every plan fails, and every attempt to move forward is stopped.  We may begin to wonder whether God is protecting us at all.  From where we stand, it may appear that He has become the obstacle.

Lamentations doesn’t rush to explain that feeling away.  It allows the question to remain:  What do we do when the God who is supposed to be for us appears to be standing against us?