God of Nothing

Jephthah has a really interesting story. He was living in a community that should have been his community, but the people there want nothing to do with him because they don't like that he plays by God's rules. So they send him away. Not very long after that when those very same people run into some trouble and start looking for someone to help lead them out of it, they decide that Jephthah is the guy. 

Yup. That Jephthah. The one they already sent away. All of a sudden, they want him and his God.

And when they come to him to tell him that they need his help, his response is...bold. "Aren't you happy with what your god - the god you chose because you didn't like my God - has given you?"  

And then, he rubs just a little more dirt on it. "My God, the one you rejected, is content to let you have everything that your gods were able to give you."

That is, God is perfectly okay with letting you have nothing at all. That's the insult. That's the rub. 

It's also the truth. 

God's not going to force Himself on anyone. He could, but He's not going to. That's what's so funny about the world that keeps getting upset with Christians for "shoving God down their throat." That's not who our God is.

God is okay if you want to worship other gods. It's not His first choice, and if you're a Christian, the rules are different (you shall have no other gods before Me), but as a general rule, from the very beginning, our God has been a God who wants us to choose Him but won't force us to. If you'd rather worship Chemosh or Molech or Baal or money or drugs or rock n' roll, He's not going to stop you. 

But when the going gets rough, He's going to tell you the truth - you have in your life exactly everything your other gods were ever going to be able to give you. You have nothing. And if you've gone chasing after other gods, God's okay if you have nothing. 

Now, if you want to choose the God of the Universe, the Lord, the Creator of All Things, Amazing Grace Himself, He's ready to talk, but He won't be used by you. You don't get to come crawling to Him and beg Him to release you from all of the things you got that were exactly what you wanted when you have no intention of actually turning from those things and following Him. He's not playing that game. You wanted nothing, you got nothing, and if you're not ready to change your life, you can have that nothing as long as you want to cling to it. 

Let go...and let God...and He's got you.

So the question is: are you happy with what your god has given you?