Today's blog is extremely personal. I had no idea what direction it was going until I began to write. God had His own plans. My prayer is that someone else will find freedom through what I have expressed today, just as I pray this for myself. Please open your Bible and read Deuteronomy 19 or just click here.
God thinks of everybody. He knew that in establishing these laws there would be people who might end up wrongly accused or who wind up in situations that they did not intend to be in. He doesn't always just create a rule and put a period. It seems He kind of puts a comma and a "but if," sometimes. He realizes that every situation is unique and there will be times that the laws may not see the entire story. This is why He includes the need to build cities of refuge and stipulations on witnesses.
A city of refuge is a place for a person who "kills a neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought." (v.4) Accidental death. In 2010 there were over 120,000 accidental deaths in the U.S., the top cause being traffic accidents. Our justice system is set up to proactively try to prevent as many unintentional deaths as possible but then will also rule over them once they do occur. People may be greatly traumatized and heartbroken when accidents occur but do not often go out and murder the other people responsible for the death of their loved ones because they know everything must go through the court system. We also all know that accidents happen. God wanted to remind the Israelites that accidents will happen and that they needed to provide a way to deal with those tragedies. He also said that if it is determined it wasn't an accident, that person should be removed from the city and refuge and be punished for what they did. Witnesses were supposed to make it possible to see that justice was carried out. One witness wasn't enough. There had to be two or three and if it was decided that a witness was lying, there were supposed to be punished severely for their actions because they were playing with another person's life. Bottom line, God is sympathetic to accidents but also cares greatly about justice being done. Very bottom line, a person's life is so dearly important to the Lord.
I walk away from this chapter reminded of how deeply God loves His people. He takes the time to set provisions for those unfairly taken advantage of, for those finding themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time, and for those that might not get a second chance after finding themselves in a sticky situation. He seems to desire for all to get a fair trial. This is our God, the Chief Justice and Judge. It is His great joy to fight for us each and to demand that we have a second chance. It is also important to realize that once we step away from Him and choose disobedience, we could quite possibly find ourselves guilty and He will require us to be punished. An accident can happen to anyone. Christians and non-Christians both make unintentional mistakes and sometimes even choose to intentionally go against God's plans.
Drunk driving is such a sad crime that could easily be prevented by not drinking alchohol. I wonder, if it is really that easy though? I am in no way making light of the horrific tragedy that has taken so many innocent lives - there is truly, absolutely no excuse when someone can choose NOT to get behind the wheel. However, sometimes, that drunk driving is being done by an alcoholic, which is a person caught in a terrible addiction. I could say that an alcoholic never intends to kill someone driving, but they have allowed their first few bad choices to consume them and once they bow down to alcoholism they lose control of their lives. I can't judge an alcoholic because I feel like my own food addiction is a very similar sin. If I don't fight to overcome this addiction, I could also unintentionally kill somebody. Not from drinking and driving but from an irresponsible, unhealthy lifestyle. A few weeks ago, during bath time, I looked into my daughter's beautiful, innocent eyes and wondered how she would feel if I died because of complications from being overweight. What would she think if I had every possible resource to overcome such a bad addiction but just never found the strength to do it? Would she ever wonder why I didn't love her enough to break strongholds? Would she wonder why I placed food of greater importance than the people in my life? Would she wonder why I let something as basic as being overweight be the reason I lost my life? Isn't this the same thing a child of an alcoholic wonders? Isn't this the same thing a child of a drug addict thinks? Whatever the addiction or stronghold, when life is lost - whether literally OR figuratively - and there was a way it could have been prevented - no matter how hard that journey may be - won't we always question why someone didn't just care enough to fight? This is much easier said and typed than done, but nobody ever said this was going to be easy. Change is hard and scary. Sitting here typing this right now I am faced with my own possible failures. But I just won't quit even though I know I will deal with this forever. There are no more excuses. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. I am more than a conqueror. When I am weak, I am truly strong. These are truths I can cling to because they are promises from God. That same God who is fighting with and for me. I do not walk this path alone. And I am thankful to those of you who have also partnered with me in prayer and in spirit by reading this blog. Whether you are battling a fight of your own or simply contemplating the fight, may you be encouraged to know that we are not alone in our fight.
Father, thank you that I do not walk this road alone. It is hard. And when I think about how long this path goes I get overwhelmed and scared because I just always fall back into that fear of failure. I often embrace the lies rather than embracing Your promises. Let me cling to Your truth today. You do care. You do fight for me. You do love me. I am not alone. I surrender my life to you today. Help me do this again and again and again. I love you. Amen.
Now Choose Life.
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