The Making of God

The examination of the existence of god fails to explore the wide range of images of god that exist in the human mind. When I am asked if I believe in god, I need to reply "What does your god look like?" If I believe in a "god" that consists of a cloud of sub-atomic particles, devoid of thought, may I claim a belief in god? 

 

Len Sanders, 8/23/10 in answer to the question:

  Does Science Make Belief in God Obsolete?

Have you ever been disappointed by God?  Ever felt He was unjust, unfair, maybe even a little cruel in His dealings with you?  Ever wonder why God didn’t prevent a tragedy or a trauma in your life and perhaps why He seems to disappear when you need Him the most?

Have you questioned His ability to save, rescue, heal or reconcile? Ever just get tired of waiting for months or even years for an answer from Him? Ever feel like your once vibrant faith has been shipwrecked and you’ll never be able to sail on faith the way you once used to?

I think any believer who is conscious has felt at least one if not all of these things at one time or another.

I recently finished reading a book by Phillip Yancey titled, What Good is God? In Search of a Faith That Matters.  In one chapter, he told briefly of a lady pastor who found it impossible to pray for 18 months after her son died.  Even after her attempt to reconcile with God it took an additional six months before she could really pray. I found great comfort in that story.  I’ve been in that place of broken faith. Different circumstances - same devastation.

When we suffer great disappointment or tragedy and God doesn’t seem to care or even show up, we call into question just who He is and wonder what our faith is all about. While these doubts are normal and there is certainly grace sufficient to cover them (just read The Book of Job), it leaves us vulnerable to perhaps forget who He is and what He says about Himself and about His love for us.

When these things happen, ask yourself this one question:

Am I placing my faith in a God that I have made, 

or in the God that has made me?

What a humbling query.

The truth is, we all form an idea in our minds about who God is and what He will do.  If we could instantaneously believe 100% without failing or faltering in what scripture tells us about God, we would never have a crisis of faith.  So much of our concept of God is based on what we were taught as children, past personal experiences and where we currently are in our understanding and faith walk. In essence, over time, if we are not careful, we end up making God into what we think He is, or what we think He should be, instead of simply believing  in who He says He is.

Is the God you pray to a temperamental, moody, spiteful, wishy-washy, control freak, or the tender, merciful, loving, holy, righteous, compassionate, victorious God He says He is?

The problem with faith is that you have to practice it in order to get good at it and many give up before it is ever established in their life. Unfortunately, the only arena to practice our faith  in, is in the arena of adversity.  If we can be honest with each other for a moment -  not many of us volunteer to go there!

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews11:1 

It is easy to believe in what we can see or what we know, but not so easy to believe in things unseen or unknown.

If you are feeling stalled in your faith, ask yourself this simple question before you pray next time: exactly who am I praying to? Is it the God that I have made in my mind? Or the God who made me? Am I subconsciously expecting an answer based on my limited knowledge and belief, or based on what God has said in His word?  

Before we approach God for anything, it may be helpful to remind ourselves of these five promises.*  These truths about who HE is will help redirect our focus from who we think He is, to Who He says He is.

(1)    God is ALWAYS with ME. I will not fear.
And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Matthew 28:20 (NLT)

(2) God is ALWAYS in CONTROL. I will not doubt.
After all the difficulties in Job's life, and after challenging God, Job humbly declared: 

I know that you can do everything and that your plans are unstoppable. Job 42:2 (GWT)

(3) God is ALWAYS GOOD. I will not despair.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. Psalm 107:8-9 (NKJV)

(4) God is ALWAYS WATCHING. I will not falter.
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.
You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!
Psalm 139 1-6 (NLT)

(5) God is ALWAYS VICTORIOUS. I will not fail.
But praise be to God who makes us strong to overcome in Christ, and makes clear through us in every place the value of the knowledge of him.
2 Corinthians 2:14 (BIBE)

Sometimes, we just need to adjust our thinking.  And sometimes, it takes a simple question to set us straight and get us back on the right path.  

May we find grace, today and always, to believe in the God who made us, instead of the God that we make.

* The five promises are taken from the book titled, Always True: 5 Exceedingly Great and Precious Promises, by James MacDonald. I have not read the book so I do not know if the scriptures I chose for this blog correspond to what Mr. MacDonald has written.

Another good reminder...

PASS THE BREAD PLEASE!

 

Known as the “staff of life” the origin of bread can be traced back thousands of years to ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, and even before recorded history.  It has fed every civilization for thousands of years.  Bread has a long history for a reason. It is a healthy and nutritious food that fills the stomach as well as the soul. Even the Lord's Prayer teaches us to request of God Give us this day our daily bread- meaning not merely loaves, but moral and spiritual sustenance.

The request for daily bread in the Lord’s Prayer had never manifest more clearly as when my mother was in a coma for seven weeks after having a severe brain hemorrhage. During that critical time when life and death were the moment-to-moment concerns, I learned to ask not for another week, or another month, or the rest of what I thought should be her life, but simply for whatever was needed to handle whatever the day brought.  It is a lesson I will never forget. It was on July 24, 2006, eight days into her coma while sitting at my mom’s hospital bedside that I wrote this in my journal:

Where tomorrow is not promised, I have learned to ask only for daily bread.

There was no guarantee she would survive; there was no promise of her awakening; and there was certainly no prognosis as to how functional she would be if she did both survive and awaken.  All we had was the very moment we were in and somehow that had to be enough because any other possibility was too unknown and far too overwhelming. It was not only my personal greatest test of faith, but also the best lesson in learning  how to ask for and live on daily bread which is so essential to life.  So, I would like to humbly share  little slice of bread with my readers.

Porcupine People, Thorns in the Flesh, and Other Prickly Problems

Nearly one year ago, my family and I took in our beloved 86-year old childhood neighbor and friend. I had been trying for a few years prior to this transition to convince her to sell her home and move to a retirement community, but she had been in her house since she was adopted at the age of nine and it was understandably hard for her to leave. Her adopted mother passed away in 1982, and she had no family of her own. Her home was all she had. We eventually learned that the local police had been called to her home quite frequently, so they ultimately reported her to Adult Protective Services. Desiring to do the right thing out of gratitude for her kindness to three generations of our family, we brought her to live with us with the intention of nursing her back to her optimum health, helping to get her affairs in order and determining what the best living arrangements would be at such a time.

We had no idea what we were signing up for when we did.