woe is me!
No matter what our eyes see, God is still in charge. He loves his creation…ALL of it. I can worship Him best by not holding any of it in contempt.
But that is SO much easier said than done. If I look too long at the behavior of those in the world around me, I can get so discouraged. If I spend too much time fixated on the problems of this planet, I can get so frightened. And my discouragement and fear can quickly turn to outrage, superiority, anger and contempt. Contempt says that I am better than the rest of creation. Contempt says that God is not in control and never has been.
What was it that God said to Job? “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth…Have you commanded the morning since your days began and caused the dawn to know its place?” And when Jonah complained about the repentance of those “contemptible” Ninevites, didn’t God say,“Should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their left?”
God is pointing out that we need to know our place…that only God sees into the hearts of his created beings. Only God knows who is beyond the pale. There is such futility in operating without humility.
Even the prophets among us better remember their place. Isaiah recognized this. In his vision of the Lord in his temple he exclaimed, “Woe is me! I am ruined! (I am stupid?) For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:5)
Eugene Peterson included these prayers in his book, “Seeking God’s Face”: “High and exalted God, your holiness crushes my pride and I cry ‘Woe is me!’... Startle me with the wonder of your forgiveness, the joining of justice with compassion in Jesus… Let me rest in the just verdict of your salvation. Amen”
God can only use me to bring peace and reconciliation to the broken, hurting corner of the world where I’ve found myself, if I first admit the insufficiency of my perspective and move from a place of compassion instead of contempt.
Humbly yours, Liz
Photo via Sandwich/Flickr
