Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Thus says the Lord: What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, November 30, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
God sounds hurt. God has loved and cared for the Israelites in countless ways, and given them all that is good in the world. Yet time after time they reject God and go running off after the deities of other nations. Time after time they forget all about God’s commandments to take care of the poor, the widow, and the orphan and spend their time accumulating wealth. “What did I ever do to you,” demands God, “that you would treat me this way?”
I can’t answer for them, but I can answer for me. When I find myself slipping away from God, it’s because I don’t trust God to give me what I want (on my terms and my timeframe). It’s because I’m scared there won’t be enough or I won’t be enough. It’s because I don’t want to wait to find out what good things God has in store for me, I’d rather force the world to give me what I want. And I can tell you in no uncertain terms that it doesn’t work. I get disconnected from God and that just makes everything even worse.
God may be hurt, but God doesn’t hold grudges. God is always there, waiting to receive me with open arms like the father of the prodigal son. The sooner I turn around and go back to God, my source and sustainer, the happier I will be.
Do I ever find myself disconnected from God? Why does that happen? How do I reconnect?
![1 Kings 17:1-16 [17-24], God’s Care for the Widow](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b39b61ab48de92d991a40a/bf37035e-33d5-439f-a0d6-a68b02d0f1bc/24-11-03.jpg)
