Who is God and what does He want from me?
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.
Psalm 34:8 (NIV)
It seems our culture holds a lot of misconceptions about who God is, and today I want to address some common myths. These misinterpretations are often held by Christians and non-Christians alike. And though I have strong feelings on these matters today, I want to clarify something- I once held some of these very same misconceptions myself. So, please know I share my message today with a humble and open heart.
My words come from a place of love and never condemnation. As I write, I look back upon a girl who was once blind to the magnitude of how mighty, powerful, loving, holy, and good her Heavenly Father is, and I wish someone had told me these truths sooner. My hope is that you will glean a little insight and wisdom from someone who has been there too, but above all, I pray that shedding light on these misconceptions will lead you to seek out God's word and get to know Him for yourself. We can never know Him intimately if we always take someone else's word for it. To see the truth, we need to search Him out ourselves.
Misconception One:
A Good God wouldn't allow me to hurt.
The Truth:
If we look around us, we'll see broken and hurting people everywhere. It doesn't seem right to our human minds. If God has total control, why would He allow children to get sick, families to break apart, loved ones to be lost, and addictions to take over? I won't claim to know all the answers to life, but over the years, I have learned to take a humble position in these circumstances as God has shown me time and time again that He is so much bigger and more sovereign than I could ever imagine. Here is what I do know and what I have experienced for myself. We live in a broken and sinful world, and because of that sin, there will always be pain and suffering here. God gives us free will and a choice. Will we trust him through the heartaches and hurt or not? Jesus told us, "In this world, you will have trouble but take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33 (NIV) The Bible is full of people who suffered and experienced pain. Jesus was one of them. He knows all about suffering, and He will never leave us to it alone. By trusting Him through my struggles in this life (and there have been many), I have become more mature in my faith and developed strength and perseverance. I have gained wisdom and insight on what to allow into my life and what to let go of. Through each trial, I have developed a deeper and more intimate relationship with the Lord. Avoiding these hardships altogether could never compare with the wisdom I found by going through them. Knowing what I know and growing how I've grown, I have become grateful for my struggles and even found joy amidst deep pain. I have learned that His plan, no matter how painful it may be at times- has always been better than my own.
Misconception Two:
God just wants me to be happy.
The Truth:
In our culture today, we place great emphasis on our happiness, success, material possessions, self-indulgence, and just flat-out living life however we see fit. We shout about how deserving we are of happiness while we caption our posts, "Living my best life!" The truth is we live in a world that God created and in bodies made in His image and likeness. The Bible says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23). We are all sinners, so what we truly deserve is death and Hell. However, God sent His son Jesus to stand in the gap for us and take on the sins of the world so that those of us who call Him our Savior would have a way to Heaven. It should humble our hearts immensely to consider this trade-off. But I have often heard people say, "God doesn't care what we do. He just wants us to be happy." Friend, God absolutely wants us to experience His joy, but His idea of joy and our ideas are incredibly different. If living our best life means celebrating our disobedience to God, we're not living our best life at all. Living our best life is falling into a deep and intimate relationship with Him. He calls us to be obedient to Him, and though we'll never do it all perfectly, our response to His love should pour out in ways that honor Him. If we celebrate sin and continue to make choices that He warns us will lead to harm, we aren't being obedient, and we'll feel separation from Him. God doesn't want us to live dull and miserable lives- far from it! He wants to show us that more fulfillment and joy come from a close connection with Him than anything else we could ever try to fill ourselves with.
Misconception Three:
God needs me.
The Truth:
Friend, God is GOD. He doesn't need us at all. The first time I heard someone say these words, I felt hurt inside- a little offended even. Because, as human beings, we yearn to feel loved, valued, and cherished. In fact, if we're honest, we likely spend way too much time trying to achieve feelings of validation and approval from others in some way- through our jobs, our friends and family, school, achievements, social media, etc. We use our money, looks, smarts, wit, talents, humor, material possessions, sex, hospitality skills, and more- all as a way to feel valued and appreciated by others. But, when we strive for the approval of human beings, that feeling is always fleeting. Human beings will always want and expect more from us, and we can never please everyone. But God only wants our hearts. He literally needs nothing we have to offer Him. But He wants us anyway. How beautiful is that? We could give Him nothing but our hearts, yet that would still be enough. He loves us and values us because we are His alone. “Neither is He served by human hands as if He needed anything since He Himself gives everyone life and breath and all things” Acts 17:25 (CSB).
Friend- today, I want to encourage you. Seek Him. Seek him out for yourself! Years ago, I began praying an important prayer. I prayed that God would allow me to see the magnitude of how big He is. It's a prayer I still pray today, and His answer to this prayer never seems to stop evolving. He keeps getting bigger. And the bigger I see Him, the smaller I see myself. That may not sound appealing to many people in today's world, But it's the best place we can ever be. The Bible is a living tool, and contrary to popular belief, its relevance is astounding in our culture. We will never have a well-defined image of who we are unless we get a well-defined image of who He is, and friend, there is so much joy and fulfillment to be found in Him.