Why?

Genesis 4:

… but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

I was feeling downcast this week.  In fact, downcast reminds me of outcast, and that’s how I felt – an outcast from God – simply because he didn’t appear to be answering one of my prayers the way I had hoped.  And it’s not pleasant to feel downcast – where your head hangs low in shame or disappointment.

In these verses, Cain is feeling downcast because God did not accept Cain’s offering.  In fact, Cain was angry.  But the Lord asked him why he was downcast, almost inferring that there was really no reason to feel that way.  In other words, it was Cain’s own choice to feel downcast.

The answer was simple. “Do what is right.”

When we pray and demand and answer of our own choosing, or when we even go about doing “good,” but our heart is not right towards God, and when the outcome does not appear as expected, we get upset.

But we have a choice to make.  Trust in God and repent of our own selfishness, and choose to trust that his answer is best…or hang our head low and feel bad.

Sometimes, it doesn’t seem simple to do right, but when we choose correctly and quickly, there’s less of a chance of a cloudy “overcast” day that makes us feel downcast…and the sun shines on our path once again.