Hurting God

“‘”…how I [the Lord] have been hurt…”‘” Ezekiel 6:9b (NASB)

Turning on the TV to watch a DVD I caught a portion of a war movie. It was near the beginning of Pearl Harbor and the adversary was launching planes to attack. One pilot says, “I will gladly give up my life for my country.” Planes then take to the air flying over deep blue waters and lush green islands.

Seeing the airborne squadrons I couldn’t help but think of the Lord, how His heart breaks when He sees His beloved children mercilessly attacking each other, deliberately inflicting pain and death. This was not His plan; His plan was for us to love Him, do justice, be kind to others and walk humbly with Him (Micah 6:8). In His design, we would put nothing above loving, faithful obedience to Him. His plan was for His kids to “play nice.”

We serve a God whose presence we can often feel, occasionally hear, but rarely (if ever) see. We can forget how deeply our thoughts and actions – both individually and corporately – wound Him. When we turn our focus away “doing our own thing,” longing after or pursuing things not intended for us we inflict pain on Him: “…how I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which played the harlot after their idols…” (Ezekiel 6:9 NASB). We forget that when we go our own way, chasing dreams, plans and desires not from Him we are adulterously courting (often insidious) idols.

Lord, help me to remember that even though I can’t see it, the pain on Your face and in Your heart is very real. Please Holy Spirit, help me not contribute to that pain but guide me to walk in a way that is pleasing to You, a way that brings a smile to Your face and joy to Your heart.