God’s Not Mean

During times like these, where tragedy is falling consistently upon humanity with floods, earthquakes, shootings, and other violence, Internet trolls love to make fun of God by posting demeaning statements about Him. Beth Moore said that when bad things happen, people tend to fill in the blanks with one of two things: God is mean, or my life is meaningless.

With all the negative noise, sometimes it is hard for a follower of Jesus to not get a bit distracted. I will never forget the funeral of a beloved husband, where his wife was A-N-G-R-Y at God. In her grief she blamed God for not answering her prayer of healing for her one-and-only love. She was bold in her fist shaking, unlike those who tuck disgruntlement toward God into the heart in order to appear strong, but silently hold a grudge against Him. Sorrow catches all of us off guard. It rarely gives warning, and if it does, we are never ready for it….EVER. We just have to be careful that the unanswered WHY that sorrow brings doesn’t create a barrier between us and God. That’s just what the enemy is counting on.

The key to passing through the fire with purity of heart, is found in the example of Job in the old testament. Job lost a lot. He lost all of his children. He lost all of his wealth. He lost his health. And Job lost the support of his wife. She advocated suicide. And what did Job do when news of sorrow reached his ears? He fell down on the ground and worshiped. Job 1:20-22 He worshiped because he knew the God He served. He knew. In contrast, my prayers of sorrow begin with me. Me, me, me. But Job celebrated the fact that God is worth his worship, even while in extreme pain.

This is where scripture comes in. What does scripture say about God as opposed to the lies of the enemy? How can I know my God, just as Job did?

I have prepared my Bible for the day when I am faced with emotions of confusion…for the day when the enemy accuses God of misdeeds. This helps me take captive every false thought. 2 Corinthians 10:5 This helps me know who I believe in.

Here are a few pictures of scriptures from my bible. I have made these easy for me to find, even through tears.