Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Psalm 55 and Proverbs 19

“People ruin their lives by their own foolishness
    and then are angry at the Lord.” (v.3)

How true. God has given us boundaries within which to live a flourishing life that is free and abundant. They are also given to protect us from the harm that lies outside them. As Proverbs 19:16 says: “Keep the commandments and keep your life; despising them leads to death.”

God has revealed His boundaries and His will for our well-being through Scripture, through the gift of reason, and also through our consciences.Yet, foolishly, we choose to ignore the boundaries and “do it my way”… only to discover painfully that God had very good reasons for setting up the boundaries we just crossed. The greater tragedy, though, is when we blame God for the consequences of our own folly (against which He so clearly warned us) and refuse to accept the responsibility for bringing this on ourselves.

The late Rev Professor George Lawson wrote: “Wretchedness, in one form or other, follows sin, as the shadow follows the body: but we are so loathe to blame ourselves for the consequences of our own folly, that our hearts will rather fret against the Lord, as if he were the cause of our ruin.”

Today, let us gladly embrace the Way of Jesus, the God-given Way to abundance of life. Whenever we mess up, let us recognise the folly of our boundary-breaking ways, turn back to God in confession, receive His forgiveness and restoration, and set out once again on the Jesus-following Way with joyful determination.

God of Wisdom, I receive and accept Your Lordship over every moment of my life today. Help me to walk in Your Way. I renounce any thought that You are to blame for the consequences of my folly when I step outside Your will; and I accept full responsibility for what I bring upon myself in those moments. Yet, when I fail, forgive me and restore me by Your great grace I pray. Amen.