God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?
(Numbers 23:19 NIV)
For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
(Deuteronomy 4:24 NIV)
For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.
(Deuteronomy 4:31 NIV)
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.
(Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV)
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.
(Deuteronomy 10:17-18 NIV)
The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.
(Deuteronomy 13:3b NIV)
For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.
(Deuteronomy 20:4 NIV)
He said: "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior— from violent men you save me. I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.
(2 Samuel 22:2-4 NIV)
Will evildoers never learn— those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the LORD? There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous. You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.
(Psalms 14:4-6 NIV)
Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.
(Psalms 54:4 NIV)
Those who go through pain and loss only to come to the conclusion that God is unjust simply and sadly do not know God! They listen to what others in the church say, they listen to teachers and leaders of the Christian faith but the fail to know God. The problem is they have too many minds, that’s right “Too many mind” as mentioned in the 2003 movie The Last Samurai. There we follow a broken American army captain who is eventually hired to train Japanese troops during the Meiji Restoration, which spanned 1868 to 1912. It was in the first battle against the opposition that he was taken prisoner and slowly converted to their cause. During his retraining, his brokenness kept him from focusing on the task before him. As he faced the seasoned samurai in practice his own pain and loss kept him from seeing the task before him, even though he wanted to win, that’s when his trainer told him, “too many mind… mind the sword, mind the people watching, mind the enemy, too many mind… no mind. ”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbecIBvR3mE
We have to be the same way in that no matter what anyone else says all these outside influences cannot be allowed to keep us from knowing God! To know God is to love God and if we do not love Him or have a grudge against Him then in every case a wall of separation can be found between that person and God.
Matthew chapter five Jesus tells us who God is close to…
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
(Matthew 5:3-11 NIV)
Never once does Jesus say blessed are those who hold a grudge against God or are even upset at God because they believe Him to be unfair! To be in that place means you are not the things Jesus mentions here! So why am I driving this so hard? Because it is more than simply being free to express our feelings with God, to live a life in anger towards God is a lie straight from the pit of Hell and many in the church have swallowed it hook, line, and sinker! Listen, we have a Heavenly Father who wants us to express our emotions, this is a true statement but it is also true He wants us to know Him and not doubt who His Word tells us who He is when trials or difficulties or pain or loss come our way. One of God’s purposes for us living this life on earth is so that we will know Him better so that we might be prepared for the things He is preparing for us in Heaven. Which way reveals who our true friends are good times or bad? When things are going well don’t we have many “friends” but when difficulties come and we go through the valley how many of those “friends” remain with us? The same is true with God has He not been with you through your mountain top experiences, your walk through the desert, being adrift at sea, and your time in the valley? If we did not experience pain and loss how could we possibly know the depths of God’s love?
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
(Psalms 139:7-17 NIV)
Does this sound like King David held a grudge against God because he had to run for his life? David expressed himself yes but he never let himself forget who God was! All of this should bring you back to Matthew chapter five. When we go through tests and trials remember what James said…
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
(James 1:2-8 NIV)
If we doubt God’s goodness or His faithfulness to His people do we not forfeit that which He has planned for us? Does not this forfeiture lead us to go around in circles as the Israelites did for forty years in the desert? Tell me what good has your anger at God brought you? Are you any better now than you were when it first happened? God loves you and me and fortunately for us He is patient but there will come a time when our choice to set ourselves against the love of God will cause us to find ourselves on the outside looking in. Even though my words sound harsh my heart in the matter is that not one person be separated from God because of this lie from the enemy! It is however God’s great gift of free will that allows us to either have relationship with Him or pull away from Him.
Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
(Romans 1:28-32 NIV)
Did you get that “God-haters” are among those who refused to attest to the evidence of the goodness of God (Romans 1:20). Look at the company they keep: the sexually perverted, fools who claim to be wise who worship creation instead of the Creator, those who willingly exchanged truth for a lie, wickedness, evil, greed, depravity, gossips, slanders, insolent, arrogant, boastful, senseless, faithless, heartless, and ruthless. Take your anger with God to the end of that road… where does it lead you? Are these the people you want to call your friends? No, of course not, then why go down that road at all? The Bible says God is good why doubt that? If someone can’t see the whole picture who do you think that is us or God?
What else could possibly be said about this subject starting on October 22nd and running through November 2nd I have poured out my heart and it is heavy still because people don’t know God the way He wants them to know Him. If you hear nothing else consider the word of Jesus…
Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
(Matthew 7:21-23 NIV)
Who do you think Jesus was referring to? Those who were surprised told their Judge “Did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” Jesus was talking about church people who did what was expected of them but refused to take time to have relationship with Him. Look it wasn’t about what they did or did not do but rather it was about knowing Jesus and if you have something against Him then you don’t know Him! Wasn’t it Jesus that said if you have something against your brother to leave your sacrifice on the altar and go make things right with your brother first? (Matthew 5:24) Then why do we think we can do all these things for God but still have something against him in our hearts?
