Band-Aid Solutions for a God-Sized Problem

Psalm 81:12 

¹² So I let them follow their own stubborn desires,
    living according to their own ideas.

You cannot fix a gunshot wound with a Band-Aid. This phrase is kind of obvious. A Band-Aid will fix minor scrapes and cuts, but a gunshot wound, well, that is a whole different thing.

All throughout the Bible, we are called to have no other gods before the one true God. We read the Old Testament accounts of the Israelites disregarding God many times by worshiping false gods and turning their devotion to the gods of other nations.

Piggybacking on a sermon I heard: if your problem is God, there is only one way to fix it. The Israelites had a God problem. They turned away from the Lord, and in response to their disobedience, the Lord gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. Their problem was not sickness, famine, or even their enemies; it was their turning away from the Lord. God was their problem. They needed to get back to their roots and follow the one true God, and when that happened, their world was cleansed by God.

In Romans chapter 1, Paul tells us that God gave them over to the sinful desires of their hearts, to shameful lusts, and to a depraved mind. The Romans had a God problem. Paul tells us that when we turn away from following God, He gives us over to our own devices.

If you ask anyone why this world is so messed up, it is because we have turned away from the Lord. Now, you may not be the one turning away, but you will certainly feel the pressure of others dealing with their own devices playing out. The Lord promises to subdue our enemies and heal the land if we only would listen to the Lord and follow His ways.

Let me ask you a question: is your life in a rut, and do you find yourself moving away from the Lord? Has your daily devotion time been pushed to a once-a-month devotion time? Has the Bible become the book that stays on the shelf? Has church become an option? You may have a God problem, and nothing you throw at the problem in your life will help. We make all kinds of excuses as to our current issues, but maybe we should look at ourselves and realize the source of our own derailment. If you keep your mind on the things above and not on everything around you (Colossians 3:2), the Author and Creator of the world and all that is in it is waiting to clean things up (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Prayer: Father, help us to maintain our focus on You. Help us to not follow our own stubborn desires but to live according to Your Word. In Jesus’ name, amen.