Blessed and Dispossessed

I am reading a commentary on justice in the Old Testament that talks about Jesus being partial to the dispossessed. Some excerpts:

"It is significant that the story of Israel's birth (and therefore our birth as a community of faith) begins not in a moment of nationalistic triumph but in a context of slavery and oppression...This portrait of numbing oppression sets not only the social context but the theological context for the events of Exodus. It is not in Israel's own resources that power can be found to oppose the oppressive power of the empire (pharaoh), but it is in the power of God. Therein lies hope that seem by human terms to lie beyond redemption."

God's identification with Hebrew slaves in Egypt reveals a fundamental partiality of God towards the dispossessed. Exodus is but the beginning of a long list of canonical witnesses to God's special care for the poor, the hungry, the oppressed, the exploited, the suffering."

This helps me remember again why He is my God. I've been searching for a word that describes my recent situation. Dispossessed is the right word.

Am I blessed? Oh yes. I just look at this computer I am typing on, my warm bed, my full cupboard and the fullness of God I am experiencing as I study His word and I know I am well kept under His wing.

But my reality is that I am also dispossessed. And when that sad reality grates on my soul, it's nice to remember that God isn't a god for the victorious Christians, the ones who write books about praying your way to happiness or changing your life daily, He's a God for those who can't help themselves. He's a God for those who are still in exile, still waiting for the promised land.

He's a God for the dispossessed.

He's a God for me.

And I am blessed to be one of His dispossessed.

I have a problem

Yup, the first step toward recovery is admitting you have a problem, so I'm doing just that. I have a problem. I can't write when forced to. When I want to write, I can't shutup. But when I am forced to by school, all of sudden it's time to eat, watch TV, surf facebook, talk on the phone, re-arrange the furniture, or anything else. Why is that??? I hate it.

I know what I should write. I have a plan for how this paper will go. But I am stubborn with myself. I have to admit it - my life is unmanageable when it comes to writing papers. And to top it off, I'm kind of angry that this is assigned over Thanksgiving. I can't give thanks when I'm trapped inside being forced to write academic papers.

And this is only the first of 3 due in the next two weeks....help me, Jesus.

How do you know it's a love letter?

Somewhere along the way, I picked up the idea that the Bible is "God's love letter to His people." While I don't think this isn't true, I am realizing I have allowed that idea to limit my view of the Scripture. It is so many things. It is the epic story. The story of a God and His people. The story of God declaring Who He Is over generations. The story of Him expanding and further expanding His dominion and glory.