When, God?Sample

PRAYER:

God, help me set aside the distractions and concerns of the day to focus on you. 

READING:

When God Is Inattentive – Part 1

This reading plan looks at three stories from the New Testament about men who felt at a particular time in their lives that God was inattentive, uncooperative, and late. They teach us that we can go through tough times when we feel distant from God and still maintain our faith. 

Our first story begins with a man named King Herod the Great. He was called that not because he was a great person, but because he was a great builder. He was actually an awful person who, among other terrible things, had the babies in Bethlehem murdered when he heard a king might be born who would conflict with his goals and ambition. 

When Herod the Great died, his kingdom was divided between two of his sons: Herod Archelaus and Herod Antipas. His third son was Herod Philip. A niece, Herodias, fell in love with Herod Philip. They were married and had a daughter named Salome.

Then Herodias divorced Herod Philip and married his brother, Herod Antipas. She became the Queen of Galilee. 

God sent John the Baptist (who was the cousin of Jesus) to Galilee to preach repentance to the people. He told them that God was going to do something awesome and they needed to be ready—they would not recognize the handiwork of God if they had sin in their lives. And he was a hero among the people. 

When Herodias moved into the palace with the new King Herod and became his wife, it was against Jewish law. John confronted her, saying that she had sinned against God because she married her husband’s brother.

So Herodias hated John the Baptist and wanted him put to death. But her husband was afraid there would be an insurrection against him as king among the Jewish people if he did that.

What happens next? Read how Mark, a first century follower of Jesus, records what occurred. 

For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” - Mark 6:17–18

John is referring to the Old Testament law—not the Roman law or the Greek law. He was holding them accountable to the Jewish law. 

So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. - Mark 6:19–20

Herodias didn’t just want John in prison; she wanted him dead. But Herod would have John the Baptist brought up from the prison for entertainment and would actually listen to him. Herod knew that John didn’t deserve to die. He also knew that if the people in Galilee heard he had executed their folk hero, it would not be good.

So John the Baptist was sitting in prison. He had been sent to announce Jesus, and he had done that. He had baptized Jesus. He had done everything God had asked him to do. And now he’s in prison for doing the right thing. Jesus was out healing people and doing all kinds of things for strangers, but he wasn’t doing anything for his own cousin. And John began to have second thoughts about Jesus.

In tomorrow’s reading, Jesus will offer us a model for how to proceed when we, too, feel abandoned and distant from God.

REFLECTION:

Can you think of a season in your life when it seemed like God was inattentive, uncooperative, or late? Maybe you’re in one right now. How has that experience affected your faith?