In the Old Testament we read how their human nature caused God’s chosen people to go through a seemingly endless cycle of calling out to God for help in time of distress and peril, receiving His deliverance and blessings, becoming complacent and disobedient in good times and as a result finding themselves in peril once again, repenting and again calling on God to save them, and on and on it goes. Before we point an accusing finger at them let’s look at our experiences and admit to ourselves that we are no different. We have inherited that same human nature that makes us more vulnerable to the enemy in good times. We ask God through His Holy Spirit to move into the driver’s seat of our life in order to get us out of trouble, but the minute the road becomes smooth and straight we grab the wheel and tell Him, “I’ll take it from here!” then we can’t understand why we find ourselves in a ditch asking for His help again.
You would think in times of blessings we would be eternally grateful to God. God sent manna from heaven and water from a dry rock to keep His chosen people alive in the desert. Instead of being grateful, they complained that they had no meat to eat. Instead of praising God for what He has provided for us, so often we look around at what others have and become dissatisfied. Instead of appreciating what we have and waiting upon God to provide even more, we become impatient and disobedient. While Moses met with God on the mountain to receive His instructions for them in the form of the Ten Commandments, God’s chosen people were already at work breaking the first two commandments by creating and worshiping a golden calf. God kept all of His promises under that Old Covenant, but men and women failed miserably in keeping the law and giving all praise and honor to God, especially during times of miraculous blessings.
Those Biblical accounts and our experiences could lead us to conclude that receiving God’s blessings puts us in greater danger of falling away from God than even the strongest storms we face. Is it possible that remaining in the storm will keep us closer to God while times of safety and blessings will foster pride, arrogance and complacency that put us at greater risk of God’s righteous anger? Is it possible for us to be delivered from the storm without putting ourselves in even greater danger? Can we end this cycle of seeking and then rejecting God’s presence in our lives? We can’t – but God has provided the way.
Knowing that the Old Covenant under the law would continue to produce an unending cycle of man’s attempted obedience then disobedience due to our human nature, God made a New Covenant with man. Although it was new to first century believers, it has always been God’s plan from creation to provide grace, mercy and forgiveness through His son as a once and for all sacrifice for our sins. God has done the heavy lifting. We just have to confess our sinful nature and believe in Jesus Christ for mercy, grace, forgiveness and eternal life through His death on the cross and His resurrection. This New Covenant provides even more. God places His power and love within us when we believe, making it possible for us to overcome our sinful nature and become new creatures in Christ. Philippians 2:13 says, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Through the Holy Spirit, God has provided us with both the desire to do what pleases Him and the power to act on that desire. Now we can remain close to God and His will for us whether we are in the storm or in the sunshine – in time of need or time of plenty. “Oh how wonderful. Oh how marvelous is my savior’s love for me.”