Job 5:12-16 (MSG)
What a Blessing When God Corrects You!
8-16 “If I were in your shoes, I’d go straight to God, I’d throw myself on the mercy of God. After all, he’s famous for great and unexpected acts; there’s no end to his surprises.
He gives rain, for instance, across the wide earth, sends water to irrigate the fields.
He raises up the down-and-out, gives firm footing to those sinking in grief.
He aborts the schemes of conniving crooks, so that none of their plots come to term.
He catches the know-it-alls in their conspiracies— all that intricate intrigue swept out with the trash!
Suddenly they’re disoriented, plunged into darkness; they can’t see to put one foot in front of the other.
But the downtrodden are saved by God, saved from the murderous plots, saved from the iron fist. And so the poor continue to hope, while injustice is bound and gagged.

Acts 5:38-39 (MSG)
38-39 “So I am telling you: Hands off these men! Let them alone. If this program or this work is merely human, it will fall apart, but if it is of God, there is nothing you can do about it—and you better not be found fighting against God!”

I’m not sure how this will string together.

I was nine years old in 1969, the year the Cubs folded in one of the most monumental collapses in professional sports history and the beginning of my really strong dislike of the Mets. After the Wrigley’s sold the Cubs to the Tribune I was optimistic for a nanosecond until I heard the Tribune Company say that in spite of owning the TV superstation and radio rights, playing in front of large crowds every day at a stadium they owned (lovely Wrigley), they lost money on the Cubs. Sure.

Long story short, after a couple of through the legs easy ground balls at critical times, pathetic ownership, a couple of strikes by MLB players, I lost interest. My son couldn’t even get me interested. Prior to the Giants series this year, I’d watched one Cubs game since 1984. On one of the first dates with the woman who became my wife, we went to Wrigley. It was a wonderful evening, but I was really shocked at how the Tribune Company had absolutely trashed Wrigley Field. Watched one game in 34 years. Then came the rebuilding. A plan. A plan that was followed.

From rabid fan to absolute disinterest over the course of 45 or so years to fan. CUBS WIN, CUBS WIN, CUBS WIN!!!! Bless ya’ Jack and Harry.

I did the same with God – He didn’t “take care of things” like I thought He should have, did things I didn’t understand, so I walked away for a long time. The interesting thing is that God doesn’t need a change of ownership to make things right. He is right, even when I don’t understand Him.

We’re told that God will not let the plans of men prosper if they aren’t in line with what He wants:
“But the downtrodden are saved by God, saved from the murderous plots, saved from the iron fist. And so the poor continue to hope, while injustice is bound and gagged.”

I wish that would happen in my time and not God’s time. The thing is that I would have been caught up in the fixing not too long ago and wouldn’t have seen the light. I was to stuck in the ways of the world. God’s timing is His timing, not mine. He has a reason and a purpose for everything. Maybe rising injustice is His way of prodding us to actually do something to fix the problems in His way, not ignore them in ours.

“So I am telling you: Hands off these men! Let them alone. If this program or this work is merely human, it will fall apart, but if it is of God, there is nothing you can do about it—and you better not be found fighting against God!”

It’s easy to lose interest in a pro sports team when the ownership sucks. There’s a palpable reality that we can see and understand. God’s not like that. It looks like things are falling apart and that points to it being merely human. Let’s let God rebuild it His way, using us, leading us. We have the plan (that would be living the life Christ calls us to live, not the one we think we are entitled to), we just need to follow and execute.