Drop the Rock: From Blaming God

Innocence…our comfort zone when someone else is to blame. Innocence is what we humanly desire, and is how we desire to be portrayed and thought of by all. Scripture tells us in James 1:14 -15 “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” Even in the midst of looking and feeling innocent the desire to be pure and clean of any guilt is captivating when the war to respond with blame is raging.

1 John 1:8-10 tells us that “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” When yielding to the voice of the Holy Spirit, those piercing and flaming arrows of truth turn toward my own flesh to battle for victory with my mind and heart, but the discipline to yield to the Spirit, admit sin, or any ungodliness regarding the upsetting circumstance does not come naturally. The process of purification relies on the need of those arrows lit with the refining fire of God’s Word to pierce my heart of deceit and offer the opportunity to bend my knee to the one true King in obedience to His desires and will for my life.

To be able to walk in obedience to the Word and the Holy Spirit we must be actively listening for His voice. If we neglect to be in His Word, our active listening will soon become passive hearing before His gentle whisper is snuffed out completely. We must intentionally train our ear to be attentive to His voice, to obey His truth. 1 Peter 1: 22-23 says “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;” May His holiness be manifested amongst us in sight of all the nations.

The desire for family, husband, job, home, good health, etc. are not ungodly in and of themselves. However, when the desire has consumed my thoughts, words, beliefs, and behavior, it becomes observable that the desire for what I want has given birth to sin that is not in line with what God wants for me. It is easy to blame others or my circumstances when things may go awry on the surface of appearances, but in reality the projection of blame towards another or circumstance is ultimately blame towards my loving God who supplies all that I need. When circumstances seem to overwhelm my emotions, I must choose to look beyond the surface to the root of why the rock to blame is in my hand. The Lord tells me in 1 Peter 3:4 that what is precious in His sight is the “hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit”. I cannot obtain this imperishable beauty with the rock in my hand. I must lay it down for “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. (Romans 8:1)

Instead of focusing on what “She said”, “what he did”, what I think I “need”, or “want” I should focus on my own self-examination with God’s Word. What have I done or thought that is not honoring and pleasing in God’s sight? No matter what the circumstance, even the ungodly thoughts of injustice or condemnation deserve the wages of death. None is righteous, and it is only through faith in Christ Jesus that we are able to become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21) 2 Corinthians 13:5 says “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” I must expect the test to come, and trust it is for my growth in Christ. I must endure to yield to the voice of the Holy Spirit, admit my sin, and drop the rock of blame towards God.

1 John 4:19-21 says “We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” John warns us in Revelation 21:8 that “ the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” The life of hope and trust in Christ Jesus results in obedience to His Word and is full of spiritual reward; it is sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit from God for eternal life.

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” In obedience to Ephesians 4:32 we are to “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave” us, and reconcile quickly with those whom our sin has injured to live a life that is pleasing, holy, and blameless before the Lord.

The Rock on Which to Stand:

Do intentionally listen for His voice. We must be in His Word to recognize what is from Him: John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
Do surrender your will to His will for your life. We should follow Christ Jesus’ example. Even He, the Son of Man, surrendered His will to God the Father. Luke tells us in regards to Christ about to suffer the atonement of death on the cross to be the propitiation for the sins of the world, (Luke 22:42) “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And it was, Praise God!
Do consistently examine your mind and heart. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
Do admit your sin. James 5:16 tells us to “…confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
Do drop the rock of blame. While we are charged to have accountability among the brethren, we must guard against picking up stones of condemnation to kill with. The apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 3:17-19 “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.”
Do obey God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. Paul tells us in Romans 16:19, “For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.”
Do reconcile to God and others, quickly, as much as it is within your ability. 2 Corinthians 5:20 says “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
Do exemplify forgiveness for victory over sin and as an example to all who are watching. Paul says “For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” (2 Corinthians 2:9-11)