Written on August 14, 2009:

 

 I’m reading Amos 1-5 today. It talks about how the Israelites have continued to worship other gods, commit evil acts and reject God. Amos 4: 6-11 says that God withheld rain in some places and sent rain in other places, but the people didn’t return to Him. It says He sent a plague among them, and still they didn’t return to Him. He tried many times to get their attention by causing them other problems, but they still didn’t listen. In Amos 5, God is telling them that if they seek Him, maybe He will be gracious to them, but if not, He will send them into exile. Up until this point in history, He has given them so many chances to repent and change their ways, and He has just had enough.

 

I try to imagine what it is like for God. He sees the big picture, the map of our lives that shows where we’ve been and where we’re going. He can see very clearly where we should be going, He has it all mapped out. He must get so frustrated with us when we don’t listen to Him, when we don’t ask Him for guidance and help, when we don’t trust Him and have faith in Him. When He can see that we are getting off track, He tries to flag us down by putting trouble in our path. Thankfully he is persistent and He doesn’t give up easily. He keeps trying and keeps trying and continues to give us the chance to realize we are on the wrong path and change our ways so we can get back on track.