Why?

When bad things happen, my first question is “why?”  While my heart may be reeling with the shock and pain, and my judge/jury self-wants to voice its prejudice opinion, as a Believer in a God who is good, I have to ask “why?”

I weep for the loss of lives.  I weep for the loved ones whose world has been damaged forever.  I weep for a nation that has lost her way.  I weep that evil has gained a “foothold.”  I weep for a weak Church that is so afraid of conflict that she won’t take a stand for Biblical righteousness.  I weep because lack of trustworthy leadership makes me feel vulnerable.  But when I step away from my reeling emotions and look at the facts I see:

• There are broken people who hurt others.
• There are people groups that are viewed as stereotypes with an expectation of certain behaviors.
• There are many interpretations of what it means to be mannerly and have respect.
• In every story, there are three sides – person a, person b and the truth. We don’t always know the whole story.
• There is a generation of ignorant people who are not stupid but lack understanding and morals. Their “norms” are beyond feasible for many people because of the trauma they have endured.
• There is a lot of wrong being done that is going without confrontation.
• There are fearful parents teaching that fear to their children. We parent from our own experiences.
• There are sinful behaviors and agreements with the enemy in our lives that block God from coming to intervene.
• The Bible says there will be a time of lawlessness and that is a sign that the end is near.

 

However, when I climb to the Balcony of Heaven and behold the perspective of His love to the people on earth, I see the Kingdom coming.  He weeps but His kindness is drawing men to repentance.

In the Beauty of Jesus is holiness and jealous love.  They are not contradictory.  They are not mutually exclusive. They are one.  Because He loves jealously, He actively pursues the offenses in our heart, the transgressions, the iniquities, the traumas, the pains and says, “Come to me and I will give you peace.”  He desires to make us whole inside.  But if we don’t know what is causing our pain, we will continue in our own pursuit of justice.  If we don’t see our error, we will view the things around us with cracked glasses interpreting things twisted and not of God.  Peace will be elusive.

Our Good God is looking for hearts that will pursue wholeness, justice, and truth, in their personal lives to become intercessors to stand before Him so that He may pardon the city.  In Jeremiah 5, God instructed, “Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem and look and take note! Search her squares to see if you can find a man, one WHO DOES JUSTICE and SEEKS TRUTH, that I may pardon the city.”

Can you join me in this short prayer?

Balcony Prayer

“Jesus, we boldly come before your throne to make intercession and to stand in the gap for our city, our country, our church.  We repent for our sins and the sins of our nation, known and unknown.  We repent for unholy opinions and judgments.  We repent for not looking through the eyes of Your love to do justice and seek Your Truth. We ask that You would find us a people who see You and Your purpose in this earth to draw all men to You.  We ask for a spirit of turning from our wicked ways.  We ask for comfort for hurting hearts.  We ask for justice to be found for people of all nations and ethnicity and gender and size and financial position.

Let us do our part to listen without condemnation, speak words of life into every situation, and to bring hope that although darkness is rising in our land we can still live in the place of Your glory”