As the Situation Demands

I’m pondering this morning something I’ve come to know about God–something that actually gives me comfort, even when it sometimes frustrates me.

God does not always respond the way we want Him to, or the way we would respond were we in His shoes. He always responds as the situation demands.

Sometimes, as I said, this can be quite frustrating. When we are facing a pressing need, or an unanswered question, or some other sort of stress or pain, all we want is for God to speak something, or to take action on our behalf. When He seems to fall silent, it can be infuriating. We feel angry, we might even feel a bit betrayed. But when I’ve had those seasons, once I get down the road a little bit and have a little more perspective, I can see He was actually responding in ways I hadn’t expected, not placating my immediate demands, but working in ways to make the situation better–or even more importantly, making me better as a person. He didn’t respond the way I wanted Him to in the moment; He responded according to what was best for that situation, and as a result, the resolution was better than I could have devised it.

Other times, this thing about God is much more tangibly in our favor. In those times in our lives when we are angry at God, when we rail at God, when we blame Him in our pain…He stays His hand. I cringe sometimes at things people say about God, not because I’m afraid of His retaliation, but because I know what I would do if someone were saying those things about me. 🙂 Oh, thank God He is not like us. He sees past the brokenness in our souls and the darkness in our hearts, and He responds in mercy–and many times, that simply means not responding at all. Thankfully, He does not react directly to our railings against Him; He responds as the situation demands. He exhibits a patience beyond my understanding, and I’m eternally grateful for that.

There are definitely lessons to be learned here–especially when there are mandates in Scripture such as, “Love one another, as I have loved you.” God is indeed perfect, and we are not–but He still sets the example for us to aspire to. How many times do we react to a situation according to our own impulses and needs, rather than respond in a manner that would make that situation better?

Take, for example, when someone wounds us, or offends us, or otherwise wrongs us. When it really hurts, it seems like our first impulse is to strike back in some way, whether out of self-defense or out of anger or vengeance. Either we demand justice and make some effort to mete it out, or we retreat into ourselves, trying to make the pain stop. In either case, our response is generally self-serving. But what about that other person? What about the internal brokenness that has caused that person to wound us? What is making that person tick? If we can get past the immediacy of our own pain, could we see a redemptive thread? Is there a way we could respond that would bring healing, rather than return evil for evil?

When I think about these things, suddenly God’s mandate to forgive comes into much clearer focus. Forgiveness is a prime example of what it means to respond as the situation demands, rather than what our impulses demand. We feel the need for justice, but what that other person probably needs even more is mercy. Yes, God is a God of justice, but I think the reason He commands us to defer judgment to Him is that unlike God, we do not see the bigger picture. We do not always know the inner workings of what that situation demands. God alone knows when it is time to mete out judgment, no matter how unjust the situation might seem at that moment.

For me, I cannot count how many times I have received mercy from God when I felt I deserved His wrath. I am so thankful that He responded according to my need, rather than according to what I felt I deserved. Is it too much for Him to expect us to follow His example and to extend the same forgiveness to others?

I’m far from perfect in following His great example, but my desire is to have that wisdom–the wisdom to know what the situation demands, and the strength to respond in kind. Because He has done that for me more times than I can count–and it has always worked out for the better.