Rational Vs. Irrational

Labor day weekend = a success!

I had fun camping with the family. My parents camper is pretty snazzy (definition- to describe something extremely awesome!) It took us 5 hours to get home this afternoon. About 2 and a half hours of that was leaving Pigeon Forge, it was a little ridiculous. 

Not only was today Labor day but it was also my sister and brother in law's 2 year anniversary. Happy 2 years! May many MANY more years continue to come for you two :-)

God loves to get my attention when I least expect it. After returning home today, I decided to indulge the remainder of my evening in one of my newly favorite shows, Criminal Minds. As I was sitting and loving every minute of this show, God placed a revelation on my heart. I began to think about rational vs. irrational. I became more aware of how people (myself included) tend to rationalize things ALL THE TIME. Especially when we feel God has placed something on our hearts, whether it's to confront a friend, call a long lost friend, or it could be as random as talking to the stranger next to you in a nail salon. I don't know what the random event that might magically pop into your mind or a close friend has suggested, we tend to rationalize why we should NOT do the random task that has been placed before us. We think things such as " Well, my friend will not understand why I'm confronting them. They'll think I've lost my mind." Or "That long last friend does NOT remember me. They probably don't even have my number so they won't answer a number they don't know." I could go on and on about the list of rationalizing things.

As I sat watching criminal minds and thinking about rationalization I began to realize how much Satan LOVES rationalization. It's probably one of his most favorite tactics to use against us because it's so easy and it WORKS the majority of the time. Our rationalization becomes "a truth" to us, therefore we cannot complete our original task because that is not 'real' it's not 'rational'.

But if we really knew God, we would know that he does not work rationally. If he did would Luke 1:37 exist? How about Luke 18:27? God likes making the the irrational become rational, because when the impossible become possible, people's reactions are WAY more entertaining. Isaiah 52:15 says, "And he will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about." I mean, to make a King speechless is waay more awesome than having a group of people say, "Oh, this was completely rational. I understand why this took place." 

When reading Isaiah 53, I became so over taken and awestruck at how much God loves us. He loves us so much, that he allowed his PERFECT son to be punished and beaten for us. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but this is not rational to the thought process that we know as rational. But it WAS rational for God (Isaiah 55:8-9), because it means he gets to have US. WE are HIS due to this completely irrational behavior. 

"He was oppressed and treated harshly,

      yet he never said a word.
   He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
      And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
      he did not open his mouth.
 ⁸ Unjustly condemned,
      he was led away.
   No one cared that he died without descendants,
      that his life was cut short in midstream.
   But he was struck down
      for the rebellion of my people.
 ⁹ He had done no wrong
      and had never deceived anyone.
   But he was buried like a criminal;
      he was put in a rich man’s grave.
 ¹⁰ But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
      and cause him grief.
   Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
      he will have many descendants.
   He will enjoy a long life,
      and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
 ¹¹ When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
      he will be satisfied.
   And because of his experience,
      my righteous servant will make it possible
   for many to be counted righteous,
      for he will bear all their sins.
 ¹² I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
      because he exposed himself to death.
   He was counted among the rebels.
      He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels." Isaiah 53: 7-12


If you're reading this blog now, I believe you are reading it for a reason. Maybe you have never read it before and randomly came across it on a news feed. Or you might just be a wonderful friend who randomly likes to see what I have to say. Either way, these words are not mine, they are God's. In my flesh I'm not bold, I'm insecure, I'm incapable of any form of wisdom. But with GOD, he makes all these things possible. I'm a firm believer in Deuteronomy 29:29 "The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions." Don't ignore what God is pounding on your heart to do. I PROMISE it will be an experience of a lifetime and one you will never regret.