{"id":2626,"date":"2012-05-02T01:54:54","date_gmt":"2012-05-02T05:54:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=2626"},"modified":"2012-05-01T12:03:18","modified_gmt":"2012-05-01T16:03:18","slug":"learning-that-god-is-just","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/05\/learning-that-god-is-just.html","title":{"rendered":"Learning that God is just"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>We all understand that our federal government is divided into three co-equal branches. \u00a0There is the executive branch, the legislative and the judicial branches. \u00a0The purpose of these three branches of government is to insure that the people of the US receive justice. \u00a0You see, very few people (masses or individuals) are just. \u00a0We tend to see things through the biases with which we have been raised and in which we live.<\/p>\n

During the history of the Jewish people, especially during the time of Ezekiel, the nation God had chosen was being punished because they were wicked. \u00a0In fact, Ezekiel tells us that they were so evil that they thought God was the one who was bad. \u00a0In reality, we all live with a hint of that suspesion dwelling in our minds and seeping into our hearts.<\/p>\n

Before I became a parent, I thought my mother and father were mean and hateful. \u00a0Then I had children; and I understood that they were simply trying to mold us into mature adults. \u00a0In fact, I often think that they were kind of soft on us. \u00a0I know of other parents who decided that they would be harder on their children because their parents were too easy. \u00a0“I thought my folks were tough but I’ve realized that they were wimps,” one neighbor confessed, while nursing a steaming cup of coffee.<\/p>\n

The reality is that we cannot understand God. \u00a0Therefore, because his actions are so foreign to us, we think that God is mean. \u00a0The executive director and pastor of The Special Gathering often says that we can only see things through our own perspective. \u00a0That means that we understand\u00a0what is happening from the way we see it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Even though, it’s a hard lesson, we must learn to trust God and believe that His way is right no matter what happens. \u00a0Years ago, I was taking my children to the beach. \u00a0Usually, I would put the car keys in my pocket and lock my pocketbook in the trunk. \u00a0That day, scruffling to get everything out to the ocean, I forgot to lock my car and my purse up.<\/p>\n

That night, I went to the car to get something out of my pocketbook and realized that my purse was gone. \u00a0I climbed back into the car, attempting to\u00a0re-track\u00a0my steps. \u00a0All the time I was driving, I was doing spiritual battle with myself. \u00a0That day, while sitting at the beach, watching my children play, I had promised the Lord that when bad things happened, I would no longer blame Him but I would realize that I was to blame and takeon the guilt for my mistakes.<\/p>\n

My carnal logic had been that because I turn everything over to the Lord, He should keep me from doing stupid thing. \u00a0Of course, it’s not godly thinking but it was my thinking process.<\/p>\n

As I scouring the community for my pocketbook that had our checkbook, credit cards and pretty much all of our financial lifeblood in it, I kept struggling with myself to acknowledge that God was not to blame for this problem. \u00a0Again and again, I would say outlough, “Lord, I know this isn’t your fault. \u00a0I know that I lost the pocketbook, not you.” \u00a0My mouth was saying one thing but my heart wanted to scream “God, why did you let this happen to ME?” \u00a0Finally, I said, “Lord, it doesn’t matter how I feel. \u00a0I know that you are not to blame. \u00a0I made the mistake. \u00a0I am to blame. \u00a0I will not blame you.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As I walked into the door from my desperate searching, the phone was ringing. \u00a0“This is the Rockledge police department. \u00a0We have your pocketbook. \u00a0Can you come and get it?” \u00a0That night I experienced a clear act of God’s mercy and grace. \u00a0I learned to not blame God for my mistakes. \u00a0God is not responsible for my goofing up.<\/p>\n

As a merciful bonus, I only had $.47 in my wallet. \u00a0The thieves took the money. \u00a0Then they tossed everything into the bushes on a lonely, almost deserted road. \u00a0A car behind them happened to see them toss the pocketbook. \u00a0He stopped, retieved my purse and took it to the police department. \u00a0Nothing was missing. \u00a0None of the cards had been used.<\/p>\n

The Lord used this driver, even a couple of thieves to teach me a valuable lesson about His justice. \u00a0Because we are people who do not really understand what is right, we need God to help us understand. \u00a0Many times he uses other people to teach us about his loving and just ways.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all understand that our federal government is divided into three co-equal branches. \u00a0There is the executive branch, the legislative and the judicial branches. \u00a0The purpose of these three branches of government is to insure that the people of the US receive justice. \u00a0You see, very few people (masses or individuals) are just. \u00a0We tend…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,40,186,49,12,4,41],"tags":[690,21,688,7,699,715,701,387,386,6,700,710],"class_list":["post-2626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-religion","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-justice","tag-lost-objects","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-spirituality","tag-stress"],"yoast_head":"\nLearning that God is just - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/05\/learning-that-god-is-just.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Learning that God is just - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We all understand that our federal government is divided into three co-equal branches. \u00a0There is the executive branch, the legislative and the judicial branches. \u00a0The purpose of these three branches of government is to insure that the people of the US receive justice. \u00a0You see, very few people (masses or individuals) are just. \u00a0We tend…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/05\/learning-that-god-is-just.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-05-02T05:54:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-05-01T16:03:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2012\/05\/branches-300x189.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. 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