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Falling Into the Hands of the Living God

by Jerry Ousley  
6/20/2014 / Christian Living

The shipment arrived. Man was I relieved! It was back in the days when I was a purchasing agent for the company I worked for at the time. We needed a shipment of steel for a hot job. I had ordered it then sat on pins and needles sweating bullets, hoping it would make it on time, as promised. It did. But the order wasn't right. They had sent the wrong size of steel. The bullets started pouring again.

Some quick research revealed that the company sending us the steel had gotten the order right; I had ordered it wrong. This not only meant that we didn't have the correct material on time, but now we had to face paying for it twice because it was my fault. I had known some of my colleagues with other companies who had done the same thing but still blamed the supplier for bungling things. As a Christian, I couldn't do that. I had only one moral choice; to own up to my mistakes, throw myself at the mercy of this company and hope they'd come through for me.

I did just that. I called them up, talked with the head honcho, and told him what I had done, and the predicament my bungling had caused. I told him that I knew it was my fault but asked him if there was anything he could do to help me out. He appreciated my honesty and even though he could have stuck our company with the bill and taken his time filling the order again, he agreed to pay half the cost and get the correct material to us the next day. He did this because we had been good customers, always paid our bills on time, and didn't cry "wolf" on every order. It was because we didn't act like ruthless, cut-throat purchasers as many others did, but because we were always willing to work with them. Even though I didn't fit the bill with what most companies insisted out of their purchasing agents, it paid off. The bullets stopped pouring and I thanked God for intervening.

But it could have gone the other way. My mistake could have cost my company serious money, and could have put me out of a job. I'm glad I don't have to deal with that kind of pressure anymore and I don't sweat bullets much these days. That's good because those things hurt!

Spiritually, how are we treating God? Are we demanding that He take care of our every whim and desire or are we treating God with the awe and respect He deserves? If we were God's customer how would He perceive us?

Hebrews 10:31 tells us, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." That seems strangely out of character for the New Testament, doesn't it? But stop and think about it for a moment; as weak as we frail humans are compared to the awesome power of the God who created all things, space, stars, suns, planets, life and yes, us too, it is downright scary to think about our sin, our disobedience, the way we have treated God, and then fall into His hands.

Several instances are recorded in the Bible about those who sinned and then fell into the hands of this Living God. Think for a moment about the Children of Israel, after God had so miraculously delivered them from slavery in Egypt, led them through the desert, provided for their every need, then when they arrived at the Land of Promise, to accuse Moses, and ultimately God for making them leave a land of plenty in order to stand up to a land of even more powerful enemies. For that, they had to live the next forty years, wandering around in the wilderness until all but two of that generation died off. Think of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram in Numbers 16. They rebelled against the leadership of Moses, and ultimately that of God and they paid with their lives. In the New Testament we have the examples of Ananias and Saphira in Acts 5. Several in the new Church had sold all their possessions and gave the funds to those overseeing the distribution to the needy. They wanted that honor too, but they didn't want to give everything away either. So they sold their possessions, secretly kept part of it back, and gave their gift under the precept that they had given all. They paid with their lives for that lie. We could cite many more examples.

At some time we all fall into the hands of this Living God. But there is more to it. It always means that we'll pay with our lives, but it doesn't always mean that we will die. We also serve a merciful God. We can survive if instead, we give Him our lives. Does that sound like a big risk? It is; but then we've got to remember whose hands we're falling into.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

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