A couple days ago, I woke to a peaceful, rainy morning. I grabbed my umbrella and opened it as soon as I stepped out the door. I got to my car perfectly dry, aside from my right foot (see earlier post: “when the floodgates open”). The umbrella did its job well. I placed my coffee in a cupholder, my purse in the passenger seat, and then strategically closed my umbrella in a way that allowed me to simultaneously close my car door. The umbrella clicked shut, I shook it a little, and tossed it to the passenger side floor.
I don’t know why, but I immediately felt bad, as if I had mistreated my umbrella. I know it’s just an umbrella, but I felt that I had neglected to respect it the way I should have. It had dutifully protected me, and what did I do the moment it was not of current use to me? I threw it aside. I took a picture of it lying there, all used and forsaken, because I knew I was sensing a deeper truth behind this seemingly ordinary occurrence.
I was realizing that it’s so easy to treat the Lord, our Heavenly Father, the same careless way in which I had treated my umbrella.
When there are storms in our lives, when we are glaringly aware of our need for God’s protection and provision, we expect the Lord to be there to help us when we call on Him, to get us through. It is in our times of need that we understand how little control we really do have in this world. So, we call on God, our holy umbrella, and rely on Him to help us weather the tough times.
Let me just say that this is exactly what we should do during hard times- pray, ask for God’s guidance, repent if needed, listen for His voice and accompanying peace. But, actually, that is what we should be doing all the time!
We humans have a natural tendency to forget about God when times are good. We begin to think we are solely responsible for our success. We get prideful or even boastful. We begin to think that we’re in control and that we got it goin’ on. We may become complacent and have a false sense of utter independence and security. We don’t just forget to thank God; we can disregard Him entirely. We toss Him aside, disrespecting His holy majesty and authority over our lives. We don’t need Him anymore, so to the floor in a sopping bundle He goes.
But – think of it – what if I neglect my umbrella and misuse it, mishandle it, to the point where it breaks? To the point where it snaps or gets a hole in it? Then, when I pull it out in a moment of need, it will not be able to serve me as well. I have failed it and now it will fail me.
God is much more faithful than we likely realize, but He is also just. I think of Israel throughout the Old Testament. Sometimes the covenant that the Lord made with His chosen people must have been the only thing preventing Him from disowning them entirely. Over and again, a predictable pattern, they are in a good place, they turn away from God and toss Him aside, they end up in a bad place, they remember and call out to the Lord, He ends up delivering them, they get to a good place and sure enough, turn away again. Repeatedly. God was continually faithful but they also continually experienced suffering as a consequence of their neglect and disrespect toward the Lord.
It would seem easy to judge the Israelites but we do the same thing. Yet God is always there for us. Psalm 34:17 tells us that “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.” But that’s not the point. God is faithful when we repent and return to Him (I think of the touching parable about the prodigal son). How do we want to be treating such a devoted and loving God? Do we really want to toss Him aside when our egos become arrogant and tell us He’s no longer of particular use to us? Honestly, the idea is heartbreaking, isn’t it? If we love our God, we ache at such a thought.
God is always right there, with His hand out, ready for us to take hold. We tend to reach out and grab on only when we are scared, stressed, sad, or feeling alone. When we are at rock bottom, in a bad place from which we know we can’t escape on our own. But let’s keep holding on, even during the good times, experiencing and enjoying those moments with Him, as well. Don’t just toss Him aside. Let’s hold on tight and never let go.
Deuteronomy 7:9, HLC
sacred strokes 