I am sure that most people, whether Christian or non-Christian, would agree with me when I say that I do not understand why God does or doesn’t anything about what happens on this Earth. God is, and continues to be, a God who doesn’t behave like I would if I were Him…and that my friends, is the main point of this post.
Now, I would not consider myself a big theological guy like my friend, @JeremyRiley, but yet when it comes to God and how we think about Him or how He thinks about us, it might just take some real theology to get the answer we seek.
Let me explain; what I am saying here isn’t really a new revelation but it’s critical to understand this point about God; which is simply that all of us are bound by our “humanness”. What I mean is, because we are human we act accordingly, which means we act…well…like humans…and as a result, how we think about God is affected by our capacity to understand Him. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard friends or acquaintances exclaim, “why did God do that?” or “NOT do that?” and in my mind, I am saying, “what was God thinking?” Yet the answer is actually in scripture and is enlightening if you have never thought like this before…
God was thinking like God and NOT like us…Read this verse from Psalms:
These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you…Psalms 50:21
The only reason our natural inclination is to think that God would be like us is because what else would He be like? All we have ever been exposed to on this Earth is each other. Moreover, we know that He created us in His own image because the Bible tells us this fact in Genesis so it is reasonable to assume that God is like us right?
Wrong.
Let’s just start there. He clearly states this in the scripture above, ”YOU THOUGHT I WAS ALTOGETHER LIKE YOU”.
Well, He isn’t. God can only be HIMSELF. He is bound by His holiness to be who He is.
I think one of the biggest misconceptions that we have here on earth is that WE think God should behave as we do. Think about that for a second. I have seen people get very angry because they were truly upset that God didn’t intervene or fix a situation that in their minds, God could have taken care of in an instant…but He didn’t.
When this happens, it creates a huge gap between what we THINK we see God doing VERSUS what God is REALLY doing. Read this verse below from Isaiah to help me illustrate my point:
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV)
For some of us, it may take some humility for us to recognize this very simple fact; that Gods ways are higher and better than our own but again, starting right there with how we think about God.
It is critical for us to recognize our place changes everything for us in how we approach and ultimately come to grips with who He is.
Have you ever heard the expression that “God is God and I am not”? Well, that is a reality check for those of us who just assumed that He might act as we wanted Him too.
But I do have some good news for those who feel this information above might have been a reality check for you;
Gods plan was never about God becoming who we wanted Him to be…but rather it was always about mankind, meaning you and me, becoming more like Him. Take a look at this verse in Romans that illustrates this;
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2 ESV)
Think about this verse guys…
You can conform your heart and mind to be more like God’s and I can tell you that when this happens, it truly changes the way you think. Do you remember at the beginning of this post when I mentioned about being frustrated with God because He isn’t fixing or doing something as you think He should?…now you can see that when we think differently about God because of a renewal of our minds, suddenly, there is an understanding there that wasn’t there before.
Keep in mind that God is just being God and carrying out His plan for our lives and we just need to listen…
Until next time guys…
Iron Sharpens Iron, Men Strengthen Men 