Who God Really Is

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, He leads out the prisoners in singing." Psalm 68:5-6

Two years ago, I read "40 Days To Lasting Change: An AHA Challenge" by Kyle Idleman with a group of friends online.

It's been sitting right in front of me on my prayer desk all this time, and for some reason, this week, I decided to pick it back up again.

Idelman points out some "Un"s" we believe about God and I wanted to share them with you:

1. Unreasonable Father: this is the God with a long list of rules that seem designed to take the fun out of life.
2. Unmerciful Father: this is the God who is angry and borderline abuse while happily distributing punishment.
3. Unpleasable Father: religion uses guilt and shame to reinforce rules and present God this way.
4. Uncaring Father: He wasn't there when they needed Him, so He must not care.

Let me show you why all of these are wrong.

Yes, God gave us the 10 Commandments to live by. And, yes, when Jesus came He essentially "one up"d" those. For example, one of the 10 Commandments is to not commit adultery. Jesus came on the scene and said if we lust over someone, we've committed adultery in our hearts.

HOWEVER, these things aren't to kill our joy or keep us from having fun. Being a Christian does not mean you are a zombie who just zones out of life and is numb to the world. 

Jesus came to give us life to the FULL! (John 10:10)

As far as mercy goes, God is the BEST at that. I couldn't even find the number of Scriptures in the Bible that call Him that. I know David, who wrote a lot of Psalms talked about how merciful God is. 

Here is one example: Ephesians 2: 4-5 says, "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved." 

God is so merciful to us. He's done so much for us that we didn't even deserve, so to think that He's unmerciful is wrong.

Ok... this next one, the unpleasable father... this stems from how our earthly dads usually. If you felt like you were never good enough for your earthly dad, then you will attribute this on God. It's easy to do. We do call Him our Heavenly Father, therefore, He must be somewhat like our earthly dad, right? WRONG!

He's NOTHING like our earthly dad. He is pleased with us because we are His children. 

Psalm 149:4 says, "For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation." That's just one example of many.

Now, let me tackle this uncaring one. Can I tell you the truth, it's even easier to think that about God. Because life sucks sometimes. Bad things happen to good people every day. Children are hurt everyday. Now, for some reason, our suicide rate is on the rise.

People think because they go through hard times that God doesn't care. That's simply not true.

I like to think of it the way my Pastor explained to us, if you are a parent, you are IN CHARGE at your home. Right?

But are you're always IN CONTROL?  If you are honest, you will admit, no, you aren't always in control. Kids can run all over us sometimes. Especially if you are tired.

While God never tires, is all knowing, all powerful, and all everything else...BUT He gave us free will, and there is an enemy prowling around hurting people on this earth. 

Even a person who is fully sold out living for God is going to have problems. Jesus told us that, in John 16:33, "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

We live in a fallen sinful world. This isn't heaven where everything is perfect. Therefore, even though God cares so much for us, we go through crap sometimes.

What God has said He will do... is turn the crap around for our good. Romans 8: 26-28 says, "26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."

God did not MAKE me lose my twins. My body did that. God turned it around for my good.

It's my prayer that you will let go of all of these wrong thoughts about God. They aren't true. They aren't who He is. Please read your Bible and really get to know Him, or you will continue to believe wrong things.

Take some time and find out what His character is really like. It will change your life like it has mine.

God bless you today and always!