James 1:13-15 ESV  Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

When something bad happens, the first thing we want to do is assign blame. Remember when you were playing as a child with your siblings or friends and during your adventures you destroyed a family heirloom (or at least something that was valuable or sentimental)? It’s his fault! She did it! It was an accident! No he did it! No she did it! I think you get my drift. From the garden on we have been seeking to blame someone for all the hurt and wrong in the world and in our lives. Of course, while we are pointing that finger at everyone around us, we seldom see the other three pointing back at us. Ultimately, we begin to blame God for our lot in life. If only He had kept us from those bad choices, if only He had delivered us from those circumstances, if only He had refused our constantly badgering and not given us what we thought we wanted so desperately, if only…

James puts it bluntly. “Let’s be clear about this: God is NOT your problem!” You cannot blame God. He is not against you, setting up traps, laying out stumbling blocks, carefully placing trip wires. He is holy, good, righteous and gracious. He wants what is good for you. He does not enjoy watching his children stumble, flounder, and sink. Christ has reached down and pulled us up out of the miry clay and set our feet on the Solid Rock. Blaming God is not only inaccurate; it is unhelpful. Even if we can establish who is to blame (and accepting blame is hard for any of us to do), that does nothing to rectify our problems. We are no closer to a solution to the problem by blaming other people or things or circumstances.

The solution is to humbly own up to our part in the problem. We made bad choices because we wanted what we wanted, period! It didn’t matter, at the time, that God’s Word declared it to be wrong, that other people were warning us against it, or even that we knew deep within us that it was a bad move. I have observed so often that we go against what we know is in our best interest. We are our own worst enemy. AND WE KNOW IT! We have within us a selfish, possessive nature that wants to be in control, to call the shots, to determine the direction: “our own desire.”

A. W. Tozer describes the problem in The Pursuit of God:

Our woes began when God was forced out of His central shrine and “things” were allowed to enter. Within the human heart “things” have taken over. Men have now by nature no peace within their hearts, for God is crowned there no longer, but there in the moral dusk stubborn and aggressive usurpers fight among themselves for first place on the throne. This is not a mere metaphor, but an accurate analysis of our real spiritual trouble. There is within the human heart a tough fibrous root of fallen life whose nature is to possess, always to possess. It covets “things” with a deep and fierce passion. The pronouns “my” and “mine” look innocent enough in print, but their constant and universal use is significant. They express the real nature of the old Adamic man better than a thousand volumes of theology could do. They are verbal symptoms of our deep disease. The roots of our hearts have grown down into things, and we dare not pull up one rootlet lest we die. Things have become necessary to us, a development never originally intended. God’s gifts now take the place of God, and the whole course of nature is upset by the monstrous substitution.

–A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing

The problem with calling the shots is that we run into the wall of consequences. Every action has an opposite and equal reaction. Every decision has a consequence. We can make the choice, but we cannot choose the consequence that goes with the choice. They are matched and inextricably connected. Lust leads to sin, and sin leads to death (moral, spiritual, physical and ultimately eternal death). It’s that simple digression that we must learn to accept. Since we know that we have this tendency to desire, decide and do the wrong things, maybe we should decide, for a change, to relinquish control and follow the One whose way is good, true, and sure. We think we know what we want, but when we get it, we regret it. His way may be narrow, but it leads to life, while the broad way (the easy way) leads to death.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Romans 8:14)

The choice is yours. You can continue to control your life, hoping that somehow you can overcome the odds and successfully navigate the tumultuous storms of life and keep your boat from capsizing. Every time you go under and come up for another breath, remember the  definition of insanity:  “continuing to do the same thing hoping for different results.” I plead with you, I implore you, I beg of you: “Yield to the Master!”

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 4:7, ESV)

You can shake your fist in the face of God and blame Him for all of your problems, or you can open your hand, lift it to God and humbly plead for forgiveness and grace. He promises to fill that open hand with His blessing. Listen to the words of King David:

The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand. I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. (Psalm 37:23-27, ESV)