There she was pristine, candy red, white convertible top and interior, cassette tape and the most beautiful sounding engine, I had to have it. I prayed, Lord if you let me get it, I will go to church every Sunday, but that was a commitment and promise that did not last, and the thing I believed so beautiful became accursed to me. Every other week, something broke, and when it rained it leaked. My friends and co-workers mockingly referred to it as the water bug. It made its way to Alaska (another story), and there it sat in a lone parking lot, it would start but would not drive or it just did not start at all, soaked in water, covered in snow there I peered through the frosted window, forgetting my promise, wishing I would have never bought it. I had buyers’ remorse. At that point I would have done well just to give it away for nothing, I was paying for a car that did not work, and for insurance on something that could not get into an accident, because it could not move. As funny as it sounds, we have all been there.
Today’s podcast is titled.
Buyers’ remorse
Romans 4:20-21
20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
God offers each of us something beyond the weight of gold and the beauty thereof, and yet we find ourselves seeking and searching for alternatives, substitutes for God, only to discover how detrimental they are to us, and more so how calamity awaits us at every turn as we are drawn away from the hope of his promise.
James 1:12
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
Have you ever purchased something that you believed you absolutely had to have, only to discover, minutes, hours, days, weeks, or years later that you wish had not? Our garages and lives are full of such items. No one is excluded, all people, young and old alike. Correspondingly, we treat our salvation the same, committed, but not fully, half-hearted, because our suspicions (based on past history) tell us that something will occur that will not necessarily be in our favor and we will be left, once again, holding an unwanted bag, filled with guilt, shame and ridicule.
What causes us to feel such? What makes us believe that God is unable to keep his promises towards us? Of course, it is easy to chalk it up as human nature, but … it is much more multifaceted than a presumed oversimplification. Our life’s experience plays an enormous role, where we often lose confidence in something or someone that has proven otherwise. There is a commonly used phrase we quote to insulate ourselves from such folly, trust but verify. What does that really mean? And what does that say about us? God has never proven to be un-true, for the entirety of scripture is marked with his presence and promise. Numbers 23:19 reminds us.
“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”
