How to Figure God Out

Most relationships are like rollercoasters - up and down, up and down. And, though some may argue they have one that is mostly up (or mostly down), it is safe to say no relationship will ever grow if it is 100% up. Why? Because we're dealing with vastly different people. Like snowflakes, we are all completely different from one another; different mindsets, approaches, ideas, hobbies, dislikes, and triggers for different moods.

Being different from someone close to you can be difficult. Why? Because life is easier when everyone agrees with you or looks up to your lifestyle. Teams work better when they agree to a common cause. Congregations form when they agree to the Scriptures and the concepts being taught at church. Everybody feels better when the environment breeds a sense of agreement, nodding of heads, and the word "yes" and "no" said in unison.

Usually, when we come across someone too different than us, but close enough to us, we do one of four things:

1. We try to change them.

2. We conform to what they do/say.

3. We completely walk away from that friendship

4. We accept them for who they are, despite being different than us.

At this point, it is safe to say any other response or reaction would probably fall under one of the three categories listed above.

For example, say your close friend does not like any physical sport, and you do. You have gone all of this time avoiding any physical sport with this person because he will awkwardly join in and fail miserably or he will continue to say no. You have spent most of your friendship agreeing with yourself that you will save him the turmoil of wishing he had never joined in on the "fun," so you never ask him to join you. Finally, the day has come when you ask. Well, if you were following #1 in the list above, you would strive to devoting all of your time changing that person's mindset, treating your friendship with that person as if you were a salesperson and he were your client. You expend all of your energy trying to change that person.

After failing to get your friend to succeed at enjoying what you enjoy, you step into option #2. You consider this to be the only opportunity to save the friendship - by conforming to the very hobbies your friend loves. You try as hard as you can to enjoy World of Warcraft, but it's simply not the same as a good game of basketball. This virtual world is too exhausting to enjoy, so you politely tell your friend this isn't working.

Now you are left with option #3 or #4: walk away or accept them. 

Interestingly, we do these things with God sometimes. In our minds, we want God to be a certain way so we can like him. We try to change him in our minds. We use the grace he has given us as an excuse to do whatever we want. We talk about how some of the laws are so "Old Testament." We want God to fulfill our every need and go as far as disguising our wants as needs. "But God, I need this..." We exchange a heart of gratitude to a tongue that demands from a long list. We complain to God and call it "venting." 

Sometimes, we shrug our shoulders and pout, "Ok...fine. You are God and I am not..." We treat the journey like it is something to whine about until God "hears" us. This, like option #1, takes so much energy and time. We are not fully grateful to God because we are tiring ourselves out with prayers that begin with "But God...." Whether we speak these things directly to God or not, we have this mentality that my life will have to be a living Hell if I am going to have to follow him. We are tricked into believe that God will put us behind bars and take away our fun the moment we show ourselves to him.

So we are left with two options. We accept God for who he is or we walk away from God because of who he is not to us. Unfortunately, there are many who choose the second option. They are tired of the mysteries and the false hope and trying to solve God like he's a puzzle that's missing the last piece. Over time, these people move on and accept the notion that God is not worth their time. 

Whatever the case is, each option above takes so much effort. It takes endless amounts of hair-pulling, teeth-grinding, face-grabbing, and tear-shedding to understand the depths of who God is. Most give up. They separate themselves from him and depend on ignorance and/or bitterness to move on, independent from believing in what they do not understand. Some believe the world will be good to them, giving them fame and attention. And some, still bitter, choose to live the rest of their life slamming God every opportunity they can. Why? Because we long to figure out what we don't know. We desire to have life understood. We crave knowledge and yearn for that knowledge to be at our fingertips. When we don't understand, we look for something else to take its place.

All along, 1 Corinthians 2 exists. And all along, Paul has it clear-cut. We don't need to solve God. We don't need him to be like us or us to be exactly like him to know who he is. Besides, the best relationships are not about what you do together, but about getting to know each other. A relationship with God does not need to involve hobbies or the difference between comfortable and uncomfortable, but it is simply about getting to know the deep love that God desires to lavish on you. God loves you more than you know, and though it comes as a mystery, it is worth pursuing. God is the captain of a ship called Love, and he is good at what he does. He is masterful at it. You don't need to be good at it to receive his love. It doesn't need to be your "hobby" for God to pour it out to you. The moment you spend time with him, with a heart wide open, you become one with him. You share his thoughts and think his ideas (1 Corinthians 2:12)

As we walk this journey, many will falter. Many give up. You might be on the verge of giving up, or you know you never will, but you question God. You are angry at God. You don't understand him, so you are bothered. But be encouraged. Paul says, "What we have received is not the Spirit of the World, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words" (1 Corinthians 2:12-13). 

God and his spiritual realities cannot be taught through mere human words. It cannot be fully understood by man's words, but words inspired by God himself, which is Scripture and those who listen to the prompting of the Spirit:

2 Timothy 3:16 - "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."

1 Thessalonians 1:4-5 - "For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power,with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction."

These two truths keep us grounded in our faith, and because of our faith - being "...fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises" (Romans 4:21) - we can be counted as righteous in his sight. We believe God for what he reveals to us in his timing. As we trust him and believe in him without wandering thought, we receive the blessing in knowing more of him and being promised "the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16).

We know his thoughts, and he freely gives his thoughts to us. Just be you. Let God be God. You don't need to be him when he wants you to be you. He wants to show you, teach you, and instruct you to see things the way he does. That can only happen when we act like his child, not his owner. It isn't your job to figure God out. It is God and the Holy Spirit's job to reveal him to you. And He will do it. Just listen, love, and be amazed by what he has in store. As we continue walking, running, tripping, stumbling, and sprinting through life, remember:

"'What no eye has seen,
    what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived'—
    the things God has prepared for those who love him—
these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit" 
(1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

There is a River: Personal Story

With a chapter like this one, it is hard to determine a good place to begin. Since 2013, this chapter has been the philosophy of my life. It has made a tremendous impact on how I should view my relationship with the Lord. It has even given me a deeper understanding of how I should define my lifestyle.

                And it all started with a tree.

                In 2013, I concentrated on what that tree meant to me. It was the opposite of the wicked and it helped propel myself towards obedience in Christ. My devotion was to the Lord. I was promised prosperity through persistent communication with God. Everyone around me benefitted from the joy I gained when I walked in step with the Holy Spirit. “They are like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither,” the words promised. “…Whatever he does prospers” was what gained my attention the most. So, I didn’t walk in step with the wicked. I did not stand in the way of sinners. I guarded my heart, knowing that “everything [I] do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23). I “fix[ed] my gaze directly before me.” Nothing could pull me under because the Lord rooted me near streams of water.

                I prospered. I was unshaken and unmovable.

                I blogged about Psalm 1; I drew art about Psalm 1. I even spoke prophetic words about Psalm 1. Everyone knew about Psalm 1 because it rolled off my tongue like a silky milk chocolate from one’s mouth. Life could no longer throw its curveballs. I was free from anything that was wicked.

                …until 2014 hit. I began school year number three. I began to pour into the students, aware that they couldn't pour back into me even if they tried. They are 5^th graders, knowing they need to learn but not always wanting to. I began at a reasonable pace until the students needed me more and more. The more they needed me, the more I poured into them. I loved on them daily, often exchanging my impatient fury for God’s heaven-sent wisdom and delight. Romans 12:8 was my verse. If encouragement was my gift – encourage. If diligence was my gift, serve with a good attitude. Romans 12:8 took me through each day. One thing Romans 12:8 didn’t do was what my chapter could: fill me up when I emptied my all into that classroom. Each night, whether it was 4pm, 6pm, or 10pm, I would leave all of my love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and gentleness (Galatians 5:22) there, behind locked doors. On every desk would be the remains of each Fruit of the Spirit. Was I content? Yes. Unfortunately, I was also empty.

                I was so empty that I couldn’t show anymore fruit in my basket. I would cry randomly, for no reason. If someone looked at me, they would see straight through me. My face would show the emptiness. I was transparent. Then the Lord took me back to 2013. He told me about that same tree, drinking from that same stream. The stream never went dry and the tree never withered. The Lord came down to my level, my empty-cup level, and started filling my roots with that same water, from that same stream. It never went dry. As He poured, He whispered, “When the world beats you down, there is a river.”

                When the world beats you down, there is a river.

                I lost it. My cup overflowed through my eyes and my tree didn’t just drink up. It grew leaves, flowers, and my branches grew thick. Where? That same stream. It never left me, and it never will. I didn’t need to know about how to be righteous. I didn’t need to know what happens to the wicked. I didn’t need to know the difference between the two. I needed to know that God richly blesses the righteous and that I will be richly blessed because “The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight” (2 Samuel 22:25). It is his sight of me that I am righteous, and I made righteous because of His grace.

                The Lord saw me as an empty vessel, and He did what only He could do on that August 28^th, 2014: He filled me up and recharged me so I could continue being a vessel.

                That tree can prosper because there is a particular stream that fills it. Psalm one is all about the stark contrast between the righteous and the wicked. However, it is also about the beauty of God’s unending grace and love when we are “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). When we choose to be righteous in all we do and allow God to work in us, He promises to fill us with the gifts of the Spirit.

                As we encounter God in a variety of ways, we can rest assure that God will bring us into His glory throughout our lives. Joshua 1:8 says, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips. Meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” If we fix our eyes on the Lord, He promises to fill us in ways only He can do it. In all you do, remember that His love is available to those who seek Him wholeheartedly.

Whenever you doubt the Lord’s faithfulness. Whenever you feel lonely, doubtful, and burdened. remember:

There is a river (Psalm 1:3).

God is Love...No really, He is.

When you look back on your life and focus on when you were a baby, what memories come to mind? Probably no memories come to mind because your brain was still developing at that age, so memories were hard to come by when you were pooping in diapers and constantly screaming for attention (in oh so many ways).

Now, could you dare think about what God thought of you? Quite a thought, right? When you were formed in the womb and even popped out to see the world for the first time, God loved you with an immense passion so deep, you will never, ever, be able to fathom the depth of that love.

Here's the kicker: when you were a baby, all you did was poop in your diaper, scream for attention (at unrealistic hours), and sleep your life away. You were probably cranky most of the time and would try to find multiple ways to move your tongue around your mouth (even if that meant drooling in the process). You were economically and socially useless; you couldn't make a living by yourself, you could not contribute your intelligence in anyway or help someone in need. Useless. Cute, but useless.

Yet God still loved you with a burning passion that cannot be taken away by anything.

And He still does. Despite who you've become and who you plan to be, he still loves you.

And He always will.

No man, machine, worldwide war, hate crime, demon possession, sin, cause-and-effect, reminder of who we are, president, commanding officer, gender, AA group, therapist, judge, police officer, boss, priest, pope, king, queen, Secretary of Defense, actor/actress, comedian, entertainer, NBA star, NFL star, coach, teacher, or pilot is going to have the persuasive skills to tell God whether He should stop loving, lay off on the love a bit, or love more. He already loves us more than we can handle, and since he is the King of everything, he can decide how much he loves us.

And, boy, does he love us.

Romans 8:38-39 says all you need to know about God's furious, unstoppable love.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

There is only one thing that can take away his love - God. And there is no way that God is going to take away his love for us. Why? Because God is Love. 1 John 4:8 says, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."

Take, for example, us. We are human. We are defined as humans. God is defined by so many things, and one of them is love. If God is love, he does not exist outside of love. Let me repeat: HE DOES NOT EXIST OUTSIDE OF LOVE. This is because he is love. As a human, Justin Timberlake cannot decide he is going to stop being a human and turn into something else. He is a human. God is love. God is the perfect representation of love, and nothing will take that away.

Right when you think God is done, there is more love to give. David wrote in Psalm 139:14: "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." While it can be understood that God wonderfully made us, it can be rather difficult to comprehend him "fearfully" making us. According to savedhealed.com, "fearfully" does not mean that God fears us, rather in Hebrew it means "with great reverence and heart-felt interest and respect." 

In other words, God made us so delicately out of respect for what we needed to be that he spent valuable time crafting us to be formed in his image. He is so deeply interested in our thoughts, actions, and ideas because he is love and he loves us!

So, let's take a step backwards. If God is love (1 John 4:8) and nothing in all creation can separate his love (Romans 8:38-39), then that means the essence of God is greater than life, death, angels, demons, present, future, all powers, heights, depths, and everything in creation. He has authority over all things, so if he loves you with utmost care and reverence, then he has authority over that perfect love for you and me.

Unfortunately, our infancy does not capture the height and depth of God's love for us. Fortunately, we do not need God to prove it because he already has. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this," declares Romans 5:8, "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Through a sacrifice of God's only son, he demonstrated who he is so that we may have everlasting peace and prosperity.

And friends, nothing can take this love away. So bask in it! Love him in return because He, in very nature, is love! If you have difficulty loving yourself, or you do not believe that God could love a sinner like you, remember that he is the definition of love! 

It's not as if God is waiting for you to update him on the sinner you are so he can say, "Oh, yeah, I should probably stop loving you." God is perfect in the way he loves you, so despite your sin nature, God still loves you. 

Will you reciprocate that love? Will you respond by loving him despite your ugly sin? He wants and yearns for you to love in return. He is a jealous God who waits for you to return his love. You are his gift, and the love you give is a reminder that you are fearfully and wonderfully made to love like him!

Moral? Don't test God's love. No one and nothing can stop it. There is nothing you can do with this love but ignore it or accept it. 

But you cannot take it away.

Struggling with Comfort

Close your eyes. Picture a scene of tranquility, where your biggest worry is whether the waiter is going to remember the virgin strawberry daiquiri you ordered 10 minutes ago. You are on a beach in the Bahamas, about four miles from the cruise that brought you there. No one is going to hurt you, and everyone wants to help you find your way. The best part is this: since you have been working so hard at the high-paying job you have, your boss has told you to go on vacation, all expenses paid for.

This is the ultimate dream vacation, correct?

Today, when we think about the life and eventual death of Jesus, we usually envision one of two things: the birth of Jesus and the death of Jesus. This is not to discount the years in between, or even to insinuate people do not put much thought into the "middle years" of Jesus, but the most celebrated times were that of Jesus' birth and death.

Specifically, Jesus' death is symbolic of not only our status' as saved souls, but the pain he went through to get there; yet, the latter is not simply a reason to be inspired by the heroism that our Savior characterizes, but also to teach us how to be human.

Luke 9:23 says, "Then [Jesus] said to them all: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." Jesus was following through with his Father's direction, and Jesus followed them just as we should follow God's direction for us. Matthew 7:21 says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord', will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Our mission in this temporary existence is to do the will of the Lord, which is to "deny [yourself] and take up [your] cross daily."

Is it comfortable to deny oneself? Is it in any way enjoyable to take up the symbolic cross? Jesus was brutally beaten, mocked, humiliated, spit upon, and physically destroyed by the stubborn and vile hearts of the sinners. It seemed as though sin had conquered God's son. Now, Jesus commands us to carry our cross like he did?

Well, it might not sound comforting to be mocked and humiliated both physically and emotionally, but here is comforting news, and it comes in a parable:

Jesus says, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field" (Matthew 13:44 NIV).

Using this parable, Jesus puts the kingdom of heaven in terms that humans can relate to. When it comes to some of the things we possess, we do very similar things like the man in the parable. We are willing to be mocked for the things we love, we claim we would take the bullet for our children, and we spend countless hours on things that matter to us. As a result, we are willing to be put to the test to prove how devoted we are to our possessions.

If we love God and want to serve him, it will show. Our comfort is in him; our hope is to be true to God and nothing else. Our wealth does not matter, our health does not matter, and our possessions do not matter. In the grand scheme of things, we are here on earth to glorify God and allow him to take care of the rest. St. Augustine, from his book Confessions, asserts that "our blessing is to know that [God is] in control." Our security and safety is in the Lord, so wherever he takes us, we can take comfort in the fact that our physical bodies can take any beating it can, only if it does not interfere with our hope in him.

Take comfort in the Lord, for he is the only treasure that is worth investing in. Once you maintain that treasure, protect it in every circumstance, for it is your lifeline. Fall back on the Lord, and he will "give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4 NIV). You may try to convince yourself that you will find your own desires, but take delight in the Lord, and he will make your real desires known to you.

After all, He made you, and He knows what is best, even if it may seem uncomfortable at first glance.