People will stagger from sea to sea and wander . . . searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it. (Amos 8:12)
It was after midnight; my contacts were dry and blurry. Still, I read article after article, searching for one that said something different. I didn’t like the answer I was finding: my dad’s disease was irreversible. Instead of searching for false hope, I needed to adjust to the truth.
In the hit Star Wars show The Mandalorian, the character Kuiil became famous for ending conversations with “I have spoken.” There was no point in trying to change his mind or get more information from him after that. He had firmly decided the matter, and the only response was to adjust accordingly.
God had spoken to his people. Their worship was a sham, done so they could brag about their righteousness (see Amos 4:5). But they weren’t righteous at all. They cheated, bribed, and sold their neighbors to fund luxurious lifestyles. After decades of warnings, God was withdrawing his protection. The consequences of their sin would be devastating: many would die, and those that lived would be exiled until God restored them.
Sometimes God leads us down a seemingly devastating path. Perhaps the difficult road is due to our own sin, perhaps because of the sin of others. We can wear ourselves out looking for a false promise of escape. Or we can follow Christ through the valley of the shadow of death, trusting that he will resurrect us in the end.
Follow God, even when you don’t like what he says.
Tamar Eisenmann and her husband are Wesleyan pastors from Michigan. She’s a Wesley Seminary doctoral student and a fan of Transformers, her kids, and Jesus.
© 2022 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
