The script says "God is good. God is powerful." Some would say there are aspects of God that make him worthy of that title. Paul did the best he could to express to other Christians how intense God's love is for us. Ephesians 3:17-18: "And I pray that you, being established in love, may have power...to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." Pastors preach sermons and family members encourage and remind each other of God's infinite love. Naturally, it is easy to believe it when others speak about it or write about it.
But those experiences don't always line up with what people say or write. Exit what people say and enter those dirty, abhorrent situations when God doesn't make sense. God becomes an ostensible thought. You compare him the world around you: What about the kids starving in Africa? What about people who have chronic disease without deserving it? Has God vanished in those times? It seems that God no longer exists when it comes down to crunch time. It seems the miracles Jesus performed back then are only from yester-year. Everything goes our way one day and the very next God steps out for a bathroom break. "Where is God when I need him most?" We murmur. Where is this almighty God, worthy of praise and deserving of all glory? Sometimes, we go as far as mocking God's existence because it isn't the type of existence we like. It doesn't line up with the God we want and we hope to get in every circumstance. While God's love and other such traits are wonderful to have in our lives, his mysteries are also part of the relationship, and it is the mysteries of God that can sometimes leave a bad taste in our mouth.
The negative view of God becomes most apparent when it involves the messy parts of our own lives. Our anger becomes bitterness, and our bitterness separates us from the Truth of who God is. At a point where we justifiably want answers and shake our fists doing so, we often forget who we are shouting at. Our words are a mixture of finger pointing, grumbling, complaining, and a sprinkle of self-pity.
We might also cry out as Job did: "Have I refused to help the poor, or crushed the hopes of widows? Have I been stingy with my food and refused to share it with orphans? No, from childhood I have cared for orphans like a father, and all my life I have cared for widows. Whenever I saw the homeless without clothes and the needy with nothing to wear, did they not praise me for providing wool clothing to keep them warm? (Job 31:16-21)"
In other words, "Why me? What did I do to deserve your wrath? I have done things for you, God! I shouldn't be punished!" Though we might not say the same thing as Job did, we become so demanding when God doesn't fulfill our needs. We want him to fix everything and make all problems dissolve before our eyes.
Ok, you might not throw your grenades at God when things don't go our way, but there are other ways we speak to God that might not be all that beneficial...and that you might relate to. Most of the time, other than when we throw tantrums, we resort to a quiet prayer that cries out for help. We come before God, bowing down in reverence, ready to remind God of our list of things we need from him. He becomes our supplier, giving us any survival kit we will need. Sometimes it's good to ask God for help, but not like this. Sometimes it becomes a list.
Job was one to quickly "remind" God of his suffering: "These outcasts oppose me to my face. They send me sprawling and lay traps in my path. They block my road and do everything they can to destroy me. They know I have no one to help me. They come at me from all directions. They jump on me when I am down. (Job 30:12-15)"
Well, God, do something! Get in there and help Job! Help me when I need it too! We cry out in our prayers and our tantrums. We want God to give us grace, peace, mercy, wisdom, etc, as if we ran out a long time ago. "God, everything you have been giving me is not enough. Give me more please!"
God's response? Epic. God basically reminds Job who he is. Not the typical, "Hey, I made the mountains" response. Not the "I made animals, trees, and the sun" mini-lecture. Not at all. This was an all out confrontation, "brace yourself like a man," "Are you talkin' to me?" face-to-face chat. Job kicked down the door, and God gave the stern, "Sit down!" after Job ran his mouth; an unnecessary monologue in the midst of an all-knowing Master of the Universe. Sit down, and let me tell you more than just the mountains. Let me tell you more than just the animals, trees, and the sun.
Here's God in response to Job. You might want to read this 30 times:
"Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you explored their depths? Do you know where the gates of death are located? Have you seen the gates of utter gloom? Do you realize the extent of the earth? Tell me about it if you know! (Job 38:16-18)
God goes on. More rhetorical questions that God knows Job cannot answer. More questions than Job can do with. Furthermore, God's sense of humor comes through:
"Where does light come from, and where does darkness go? Can you take each to its home? Do you know how to get there? But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created and you are so very experienced! (Job 38:19-21)
After approximately 71 verses (Job 38-39:30) of God responding to Job's reminders of his anguish, suffering, and good deeds, He asks Job these two questions:
"Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God's critic, but do you have the answers? (Job 40:1-2)"
Job's reply? "I am nothing - how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand. I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say. (Job 40:3-5)
But God was not finished.
God goes on to describe the creatures of the earth, large and explainable. In fact, He effortlessly describes many of the creatures today's websites have difficulty putting a finger on. In regards to the Behemoth, Wikipedia says "Suggested identities range from a mythological creature to an elephant, hippopotamus, rhinoceros or crocodile." In Job 40:15-19, God describes it from head to tail: "Take a look at Behemoth, which I made, just as I made you. It eats grass like an ox. See its powerful loins and the muscles of its belly. The sinews of its thighs are knit tightly together. Its bones are tubes of bronze. Its limbs are bars of iron. It is a prime example of God's handiwork, and only its Creator can threaten it." God could have just said, "I made an animal called a Behemoth." But he doesn't. He describes what he made, "just as I made you."
Wikipedia begins the page about the Behemoth with these words:
"Behemoth is a beast mentioned in Job 40:15-24." These are God's words to Job. They are words about a beast that clearly its Creator knows the most about. "Only the Creator can threaten it." Only God himself can disturb the lifestyle of such an animal. God's message to Job: I made the Behemoth and you. Both I know by name, and I can describe each in tremendous detail. This is who you complain to, Job.
God continues to speak of the Leviathan, another large creature, which goes for another 35 verses (Job 41:1-34).
If these verses provide any sort of evidence about God, its that He 1) is an expert on his creation and 2) he knows exactly what is going on. He knows all of the nuances, personality traits, quirks, characteristics, defense mechanisms, techniques, habitats, capabilities, limitations, formations, transformations, life cycles, moods, symptoms, ideas, behaviors, etc. He knows what has happened, is happening, and what will happen. Edwin Louis Cole, author of Maximized Manhood, writes, "God created this whole thing, including you and me, and by His active presence. He sustains it all. God is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-seeing. (45)"
Since God created all of the Earth, God is also in control, and many times, whether we come to him with a list or with murmurs, both methods can be detrimental to the relationship and the work the Lord is doing in and through you.
God doesn't just speak to Job this way. Isaiah 40:25-26 shows that God is not ignorant and unaware of your troubles:
"'To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?' asks the Holy One. Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?"
David, over a period of time, modeled a similar approach in many of his Psalms, and this is the perspective of God we should all adopt:
"When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers - the moon and the stars you set in place - what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? (Psalm 8:3-4)"
David is asking, "In all of your great power and sovereignty, what kind of Master thinks so highly of something so small in comparison to all He has made?" He is placing value on the perspective God has of him, and it changes how he approaches his Savior. This is the same song David sings that starts with, "O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!"
So, what can we do differently?
#1. God offers hope, and he freely gives us wonderful things in Him (2 Corinthians 2:12). These are already promised to us in full, so why do we need to beg God for what he is already giving everyday? Why do we throw complaints and murmurs God's way? God knows exactly what he is doing. Though David went through plenty of trouble, he was good at giving God credit where it was due, and he did so in Psalm 34:4 - "I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened." If this is true about David - if he was radiant with joy when he seeks and prays to listening God, then perhaps we can view God this way too. It is not about your list. It is not about you telling God what to give you. Perhaps we can rid ourselves of the notion that God doesn't care about us or that he negligently looks the other way while we suffer. It is time to dispel the lie that God only desires that we suffer to learn our lessons. It's time to stop thinking we need to convince God to do what's best for us and start noticing that God is and has been. David received plenty of reward from just meeting with the Lord and praising him through joy and sorrow. His reward was a deeper intimacy and understanding with his Creator. You can reach that same level of intimacy by praising him no matter what circumstances say otherwise.
#2. We can train our mind and heart to dwell on greater things that are eternal, not just the temporal. Paul encourages fellow believers to press on, never give up, and look ahead to greater things: "That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen... (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)" If we are striving towards what is already promised to us, we will not be intimidated by things that come and go like the wind because they cannot measure up to the greater things in store. This is a gift we can cling to, even though we do not have it right away. When our perspective changes, turning our hearts towards what is eternally true, we prepare our hearts and minds for heavenly desires and thoughts.
These strategies, lived daily and intentionally, will provide a more successful life free from the imaginary bondage we place on ourselves. Let us break free from them by changing our false perspectives of God and turning them into truths that are evident throughout Scripture.