Where Does Emptiness Come From?
What injustice can be found in God? Is He not good and just? Christian’s dare not say God is unjust. We wouldn’t say it to anyone for fear of sounding ridiculous. The same holds true for saying, “I don’t love Jesus” but some do it with the way they live their life (see John 14:15-27).
Jeremiah 2:5 (NASB)Thus says the LORD,“What injustice did your fathers find in Me,That they went far from MeAnd walked after emptiness and became empty?
Romans 1:21 (NASB)For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Conviction can do two things. It will either irritate you or cause you to begin to question your direction. If it irritates you and you maintain that irritation then you can come to resent the delivery method. Often times that is a person in ministry leadership, a friend, or even a family member. The first step to a new revival in your heart and a returning of the joy of your salvation (Ps 51:12) is taking the step to change your mind. Metanoia is the Greek word for repentance.
Metanoia, an Ancient Greek word (μετάνοια) meaning "changing one's mind"
The word picture is a change of mind that leads to change of heart about whatever is troubling you. Once you change your mind then you are able to adjust to God's ways as He communicated through scripture. Kind of along the lines with "he who is right in his own eyes is a fool" or, "there is a way that is right to a man but in the end leads to death." Often times those who do not want to embrace conviction will jump through hoops to come up with a type of theology of their own, one that suits them best.
Jeremiah 2:13 (NASB)“For My people have committed two evils:They have forsaken Me,The fountain of living waters,To hew for themselves cisterns,Broken cisternsThat can hold no water.
Instead of heeding what God said they came up with their own design. They made water containers for themselves that were useless. Have you struggled with something over and over for years? God will let you. He doesn't barge in like Kramer from Seinfeld. He wants you to love Him and humble yourself to Him. Have you considered that maybe you have had a leak in your container? Maybe your thinking hasn't been biblical? How would you know?
When you walk away from God's statutes and Jesus' teachings you are walking away from His holiness and sovereignty. You are saying essentially, "God, I don't agree with your personality. It's just not what I want it to be. I want my own way."
On the flip side of the coin (no "coin in the fish's mouth" pun intended) when Jesus sent Peter to catch a fish that delivered money in it's mouth Jesus faced true injustice. He was being questioned about paying temple tax. He was God and He owns it all yet they wanted to trap Him. What did He do? He paid it. A gentle response that spoke volumes to Peter. Jesus said "so we don't offend them, pay it." I wouldn't want to be the one who questions Jesus.
Can I caution you and I? Before you get offended at correction, first question yourself. God's ways are just. Do you know all of His ways? Certainly not! That's why we should consult Him in prayer and the Bible for answers before we make quick determinations about life and others. If the correction or truth being shared is offensive to you, it may be right on the money. I don't like being corrected but I am getting better at it. Humble and quiet submission to God will lead you to more understanding.
Luke 13:34 (NASB)O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!
2 Kings 17:15 (NASB)They rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And they followed vanity and became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the LORD had commanded them not to do like them.
