The Truth About God

Alright alright alright. I'm back you guys!!! I've been asked plenty of times why I hadn't been updating my blog as often, if it was giving it up, etc.. The answer is no. I'm not giving it up. That's too easy. There are times where I'm not consistent, but quitting isn't an option for me. I won't accept that. But my view on God changed and that's why I took a break. I needed to fully understand where my thoughts and beliefs stood before sharing it with all of you. I just had to reevaluate my relationship with the Lord. That sounds really bad, in a way, but just hear me out. I promise, it's worth it.

All of my life, I've been told a number of things like,

• "God will never put more on your plate than you can handle."
• "God prepares great men for great tasks by great trials."
• "A heartbreak is a blessing from God. It's just His ways of letting you realize He saved you from the wrong one."
• "It's just a part of God's plan."

WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. And WRONG. And that is why I had to reassess my relationship with God. Since I had heard all of these things my whole life, that's how I knew God, at the very least. Without those "truths', my relationship with God was kind of empty. Without them, I realized that there wasn't much more that I knew about my Creator than what had been fed into me. For me, that was a hard realization to come into. I am constantly sharing the gospel with people, uplifting them however I could. The last thing I wanted was to unknowingly lead people astray when it came to the character and nature of God.

The truth about God? God is love. Everything He does revolves around that love. In fact, I think it's safe to say that love is the epicenter of God. He created us out of love. Jesus came down to die on the cross because of His love. And a loving Father is not going to be the cause of pain, nor will He allow it. BUT, just because He doesn't allow it doesn't mean that pain automatically goes away. Just like we have freewill, the enemy, in a sense, does too. And with freewill, we have the option to disobey. That's what the enemy did. He rebelled against God once, not realizing that he would never compare to God. Lucifer, a once beautiful angel, became profane and banished from heaven forever. While we sin regularly, with God forgiving us when we repent and forgetting our sins, we still have the opportunity to make it into heaven. 

While I knew God was, and is, good, I failed to realize that He's not going to allow us to go through "hell", so to speak. There are more things in our lives that play into our future than just God. Yes, God has a say-so in our lives, to an extent, but so do we. --Remember, only one person can steer the car at once. Who's driving your car? -- Not to mention other people, which makes me think of the butterfly effect (the theory that a butterfly flapping its wings can cause a tornado halfway around the world). Oh, and then you have the prince of darkness himself. And while he cannot make you do anything, he can throw stuff in your life to knock you off of your feet, or tempt you even. I know a lot of people who refuse to acknowledge the enemy, therefore never learn of his character and tactics, but how can you protect yourself if you don't know what you're fighting against to begin with? So, the first thing I want you to understand is that, if bad things are happening, it's not from God. For James 1:13 says, "When tempted, no one should say. 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone." All of those things being thrown on your plate? Not from God, but He can still take them and use them for good. Instead, "Come to [Him], all you who labor and are heavy laden, and [He] will give you rest. Take [His] yoke upon you and learn from [Him], for [He is] gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29) Don't carry that full plate on your own. Instead, let Him have it. 

Secondly, that pain never was a part of God's plan. Let's take it wayyy back to the beginning where it all began. Adam and Eve. In Genesis 1, God makes all of creation.

1. Heavens/earth and light
2. Sky/atmosphere
3. Land/plants and sea
4. Sun, moon, and stars
5. Sea creatures and birds
6. Animals and humans
7. Rest

After each day of creation, God sees that it was good before proceeding. Even from the beginning, God never intended for any of His creation to go bad. Evil exists because we live in a world where people don't choose God. There's a point and time where we have to start accepting responsibility for our shortcomings instead of automatically assuming and blaming it on God. Sheeeeesh. That's a hard pill to swallow. And while I want to go back and fix my previous posts where I've blamed God, I'm not going to. Growth is beautiful and I want you to see it firsthand. God is always taking what you give Him and using it for good. As a perfect gentleman, He isn't taking anything you don't offer. We serve a good God (2 Cor. 9:8) who's love for us is unending (Jer. 31:3).

So, my goal from here out is to see God's hand in all things, accepting that my decisions have consequences that have nothing to do with God. I love you. Every single one of you. I hope this message has encouraged you in some way. I can't wait to hear how you've been growing throughout this year as well.