One thing that is hard as a youth pastor is that you see
people achieving far less than their potential.
A student seems to be on a path to really make something of their life
and seems to derail so much with one or two impulsive decisions. They settle for just surviving or doing just
enough so they are above average, but nowhere near their potential. Yes, they are young, God can redeem, and much
of life is still ahead of them, but I can’t help but feel a sense of grief over
their decisions. I feel a loss for them
knowing what could have been.
Recently as I was grieving one such situation, God brought
Genesis 6 and the story of the flood to my mind. After God saw the evil actions and intentions
of man, it says, “The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He
was grieved in His heart.” (Genesis 6:6, NASB)
The emotions of God really stuck out to me. He had sorrow and grief. But what caused those emotions?
First of all, I don’t think God this verse means that God
wished that He didn’t make mankind. He
wasn’t sorry because it was a mistake making man. A full explanation of that would be way more
than a simple blog (I have written several seminary papers on it), but God
doesn’t make mistakes nor is He ever surprised.
Before the foundation of the world God had made a plan for Jesus to come
and redeem us (1 Peter 1:20) and chose me (Ephesians 1:4).
Second, God’s emotions weren’t driven by anger, bitterness,
or vengeance. Yes, the flood is a story
of judgment, but notice the difference between all the other passages where it
says, “The anger of the Lord burned against…” (e.g., Exodus 4:14, 2 Samuel 24:1). Instead, you see God showing sorrow and
grief. The flood displays God’s justice and judgment on sin, but He wants us to
see His other emotions in this passage.
We are filled with sorrow when we have desires for something
to turn out one way and it goes the other.
We are filled with grief, when we experience loss. In the same way, our sins and evil intentions
of our heart pain God, because they are not His desires for us. It hurts Him that our relationship with Him
is fractured. God has a sense of loss
for us because He knows what could have been.
These are the same feelings I have for many of my
students. It comforted me that God
understands my emotions and in His grace allows me to experience some of the
same things so that I may know Him more.
Part of knowing Him is the fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians3:10).
It has also challenged me that these are the same feelings
God has for me when I choose other things over Him. When I choose entertainment over spending
time with Him, He has sorrow because He desires a relationship with us. He feels a sense of grief because of the loss
of what could have been.
Now when I show these emotions, it can lead to despair, but God
story and plan doesn’t end there.
Despite every intention of man’s heart being evil, God made a way of
salvation. While Noah’s ark saved his family from the judgment by flood, the
ark of Jesus Christ will save those who believe from the judgment by fire. He is a God who can restore the years the
locust have eaten (Joel 2:25), He will be faithful to complete the work He has
started in us (Philippians 1:6).
