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“Can people make their own gods? These are not real gods at all!” Jeremiah 16:20(NLT)

There is something I have been thinking about for a while, and I want to share my thoughts with you today. Many of us unknowingly think of God as a “formula” God. We don’t intend to think of Him this way, sometimes it is intuitive and sometimes it is because of the way we grew up.

Let me share a few examples-

-Bring up a child in the way he should go, and he will not depart from it.

-If you follow God, you will be blessed.

-If you wait for marriage, sex will be amazing.

-If you give to God, you will be blessed.

While some of these are truths from Scripture, some of these are just platitudes we have been taught. In addition, blessings do not come packaged in the same way for every person or every time. We can easily become disillusioned when God does not meet our expectations.

Have we thought about who we really believe God is?

How can we avoid being mad at God when He does not do what we think He will or should do? How can we stay strong in our faith and safeguard ourselves against thoughts that could someday turn against us if our circumstances were to change?

Here are a few things to think about:

-First, we need to be sure our relationship with Jesus Christ is real, and we are moving toward Him each day. Are we dying to our desires on a daily basis or do we live in an environment where our life appears to honor Him because we do not overtly do anything against Him?

-Next, we need to be honest about Who He is. Do we really believe He is the King of Kings? Do we talk with Him, ask for wisdom in our decisions, and care what He thinks?

-Finally, we may sing songs like I Just Want to Speak the Name of Jesus with lyrics such as

Your name is power

Your name is healing

Your name is life

Do we mean Jesus is all powerful, all healing, all life, even when things feel like we have no power, healing does not come and there is death of any kind?

The question is, do we change how we think about who Jesus is based on our circumstances or experiences or have we determined Who He is and are we living accordingly?  Who do we really believe God is?

Let us be sure we are guarding our hearts against creating any gods, and we are trusting in the One who created all things.

“Father, help us to know Who You are and believe and trust You.”

For His Glory

Terrie Tollerson
TRBC Women’s Life