“Worship GOD if you want the best; worship opens doors to all his goodness” (Psalm 34:9 The Message)
Many people I’ve met across the years have been disappointed with God, at least that’s what they’ve said. The reality is, they were seeing Him through the stained and clouded lens of their own experiences. Seeing God on the battlefield of a war-torn nation isn’t the same as seeing Him in the eyes of your beautiful baby girl as she’s handed to you for the first time.
Many conclude God isn’t good because “my spouse/child/parent/best friend/___________ wouldn’t have died/left/lost their job/been injured/______________” (and you can fill in the blanks). Life on earth is hard, but it’s even harder without Jesus.
Satan will do anything and everything he can to turn our hearts and minds away from a saving knowledge of Jesus. It’s an eternal mystery why people automatically, almost like a “knee-jerk” reaction, are happy to blame God for the bad that happens in their lives but chalk it up to karma or luck when something they consider good happens.
On some levels it’s how people respond to my Pug. Some love Pugs and make over her like she’s the best dog who ever lived, but far more dismiss her as the annoying brat that she is. And, yes, I know she’s an annoying brat, not because she’s a bad dog, but because I’ve spoiled her and let her get away with things I shouldn’t have.
The bottom line is, no matter what God does in our lives, at our core, we’re spoiled brats who misbehave, not because He’s a bad Father, but because He loves us so much, He’s going to hold us accountable for our misbehavior. Being the loving Father He is, He’s going to tell us the truth, not only about life and living, but about ourselves. And He’s going to give us the choice to choose Him or to go our own way.
And although it breaks His heart when we walk away, He knows when we do, it’s at our peril. Nothing good comes from walking away from our Father’s outstretched arms into the greedy and lust-filled arms of Satan. Of course, he doesn’t let us see him for who he really is. He’s smiling, dressed nicely, driving a new Lamborghini, assuring us we’ll have nothing but the best, until he drugs our drink, then violates us in unspeakable ways.
And the irony is, we walked into his trap willingly and with our eyes wide open, but when all hell breaks loose, as it always does, and we begin to clearly see our miserable fate, who do we blame? Certainly not ourselves! We were just following our hearts. It’s God who draws the short stick. He’s the One who “caused” all this misery. He’s surely to blame. Why didn’t He do something to stop it?
Our vision gets so distorted it literally takes a miracle to correct it, but by God’s grace and because of His great mercy, when we do finally see the Truth and respond by faith, He receives us in love and because of what Jesus did, He treats us as though we’d never left Him. That’s when His goodness becomes crystal clear.
Pastor Rick Warren writes: “The way you experience God’s goodness is through worship—when you praise God and thank him for who he is and what he has promised you. When you believe and understand the goodness of God, it will revolutionize your life and your perspective on your circumstances. You won’t be the same!”
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 