When things go wrong -- or not according to plan or desire -- my immediate reaction is usually to somehow, someway, control the situation.  But if I am in control, God can’t be.  Acceptance is a key factor in this principle.  It is not however a fatalistic resignation.  Instead, it is an acceptance directed at God that acknowledges His presence and control in the life of the believer.  “Bad things,” whether they are truly bad or we simply perceive them as such, do happen to good people.  It is a part of life which we may or may not find reason for, but in whatever degree of confusion we find ourselves, an acceptance directed toward God is the only way that leads to stability and peace.

Much of the reason for the “bad” has to do with the effects of sin rippling through the generations. There is a future punishment for sin, but in many ways, the consequences of our own sin are experienced within our lifetime and some of those consequences may also be passed down to our children and even to generations beyond them – something that has been happening since man first chose to sin..  Think for a moment of the immensity of that rippling effect.  It spans generations and cultures, and infects the thinking and habits of multitudes of individuals.  Since the sin of Adam and Eve, the perfection God created has been hideously marred again and again.  Don’t blame sin’s consequences all on Adam and Eve though.  Our own parents and grandparents had the potential to add to the ripples of sin’s devastation, just as we do.

God offers a way through the mess that sin has created.  We have already seen that sometimes that mess has been of our own doing. Sometimes the mess was dumped on us by others, or was even viciously enacted against us.  Sometimes we see no reason for the mess, and wonder why an innocent child must suffer, or why death seems to prematurely steal a loving spouse.  It really doesn’t matter though what the realities of our life are or even why they are there.  Proverbs 3:6 promises a straight, or literally, a walkable path through whatever the mess is.  Note carefully that does not mean that the messes, the difficulties, or the realities, will disappear or even change, but it does give complete assurance that there is a walkable path.

Acceptance is not usually easy, but it is necessary.  Your emotions, your feelings, your perspective, and your thinking are all very real.  They are not negated by acceptance, but they will be shaped and perhaps redefined by acceptance.  Acceptance puts your hand in God’s hand, and with quiet confidence in His loving father-heart, says, “I know You were there.  I know You are, and will be here.  I want to walk on Your walkable path.”

– Bev