Proverbs 19:3 It’s all His fault!

Do you know someone who is mad at God for his life circumstances? Maybe you have been blaming God for your troubles. It can be a natural response to finding ourselves in the midst of a disaster. The Bible makes it clear that sometimes God refines us by putting us through a fiery trial. However, some of our disasters are of our own making! Today’s verse speaks to these times:

When a man's folly brings his way to ruin,

    his heart rages against the Lord. (Proverbs 19:3 ESV)

Here’s Jon Courson’s comment on this verse: “A foolish man doesn’t listen to the Lord, seek the Lord, or walk with the Lord. Yet, when he ends up in trouble, who does he blame? The Lord.” (Jon Courson’s Application Commentary: Old Testament, Vol. 2, P. 238)

This reminds me of yesterday’s point that, because we easily grow impatient to see our own plans come to pass, we will often manipulate situations to get our own way. Then we blame God for the mess that is created! That is folly!

Sometimes God allows illness in our lives to draw us nearer to Himself (always a good thing). But sometimes people get lung cancer because they smoked for 30 years! When distress comes, we need to take a long look at what may be behind it. Is it a “gift” from God to transform us, or is it our own folly that has landed us in this situation? Either way, God can and will use it for His glory and for our ultimate good. That’s the promise to believers:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

The reverse of what Courson writes would be that wise person listens to God, seeks God, and walks with God. Then when he ends up in trouble, he turns to God for comfort, guidance, grace, and mercy, and he glorifies God in the midst of it! How are we responding to our trials?  Are we whining, complaining, and , in essence blaming God?  Or are we glorifying Him because we know He is sovereign and in control?