Hosanna Restoration Church

Have you ever had good intentions but a bad ending? Have you ever found yourself in a situation wondering how in the world it ever got to this point? After taking an honest look at a bad situation, have you ever had to conclude that you could have changed the whole thing if you had only responded differently?

For a little while, as the Lord leads, we are going to look at the responses of individuals in the Bible and how their responses affected their lives. As we do this we will see how these compare to what is going on in our own lives. I believe we can find some real treasure if we open our eyes of childlike faith and offer the Lord only our best as we search.

The first person we want to look at is Cain. He was after all, the one who God first challenged to respond the right way. Have you ever wondered if Cain had bad intentions from the start, or if things just fell apart? It could be that after his initial anger, Cain gave some thought to what God said. He may not have felt very good about the way he acted and wanted to go out and do something with his brother. Maybe he wanted to pick his brain and find out how he managed to bring the offering that God was so pleased with.

I think we all have said or done the wrong thing at one time or another and felt badly about it. I also think that we may have tried to make it better and had it turn out worse. Can you remember a time when this happened to you? Has there been a time when you began to talk about something calmly and before you knew it you were in a deeper pit wondering how it happened?

I could imagine Cain talking with Abel and things going pretty well, until maybe Abel said the wrong thing! Brothers can do those things you know. Maybe Cain wanted to trade him for some choice lambs and Abel refused to help him out. Only God knows what really happened in that field, but for what ever reason, in the end it turned out very, very, bad!

Cain’s response when they made their offerings was wrong, but he may have been humbled when God spoke to him. However, God warned him that sin was right there ready to take him if he did not handle it. Seems to me that Jesus told Peter just about the same thing before Peter denied Him three times. Even after Cain killed Abel, he could have cried out to God and admitted what he had done but instead he let his anger rule. Even then God made sure no one could kill him without serious repercussions.

Let this be a reminder to us all to carefully consider how we respond to God, our circumstances, and to one another. Sin is always waiting to attack and destroy us, but with the right response, we can subdue and defeat it. Dear Lord, help us all to carefully consider our responses and help us to always do what pleases you and defeat the sin that waits for us to destroy us.