For Us

Just dropped in to share a thought, a daydream as it were...take it or leave it...seriously though, take it...it's like a carrot on a stick dangling right in front of your nose! Take it!:

I touched on this a little in Bone Thrower, but I've been really marinating on this for the past year or so: God is for us. Did you catch that? Hmm...I know, I know, let me guess, you've heard that one a thousand times before, and it doesn't ring a bell of profundity because you can't decide whether or not God is: 1) a big bully on the universal playground, never relenting in his unreasonable onslaughts, never giving you a break; 2) some immaterial-entity-blob-thing floating out in space, never really giving a darn about the goings-on of humanity; or 3) an egotistical, self-serving, self-absorbed dictator who demands praise to satiate his lust for power. 

I could keep going, but hopefully you catch my drift. Let me challenge you to marinate for a while on how God is actually for us...maybe even over the course of a year or so like me. I've noticed that God really marinates the truths in me that I need to grasp the most, the truths that really shape my view of God and the world in a healthy way. The more you get to know God personally, the better your understanding of His character becomes. He's not waiting with baited breath for you to mess up, then say "I told you so!" when you finally do; He's the one who mends your wounds when you fall, because you will fall, and He knows that. That's called grace, and it's one of the key components of God's character. In fact, Scripture goes so far as to describe God as the Perfect Father. You see? This whole truth of God being for us, it's definitely going to take some time to sink in because your whole life has been filled with reasons to doubt that.

People forming your opinions, experiences damaging your trust in God, even poison preached from the pulpit - hey, I understand. I've been there, done that. I've had to sit down and very intentionally think back over my life to recollect all the times people have swayed my heart from God, or all the times my experiences made me doubt His presence in my life, or all the times people of influence have either ignorantly or knowingly painted God in a light that doesn't reflect His true character. I've had to rehash all of that...and ask God to redeem it. God can, you know. I've gotten so much clarity from God about His character through quiet conversation with Him, time in His word, time listening to or reading trusted spiritual resources. "You're cra-cra, Shane." Whatever. Let me ask you this: when the crap hits the fan in your life, do you have Daddy issues?

My heavenly Father redeemed my opinions, convictions, rationality and intellect from all the poison people have tainted them with. Scripture is laced in its entirety with references to a kind God, a good King, a perfect Father, a God so in-love with you He's jealous of your affection. He's for you. My church's worship team, Elevation Worship, wrote a song called Open Up Our Eyes, and it references one of my favorite Scriptures. Nehemiah 4:20 says, "Our God will fight for us." How powerful is that? Who else would fight for you other than one who loves you madly, wildly, unrestrained? "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." ~ Jesus (John 15:13). God is willing to fight for us and alongside us, to lay down His life for us through the life of Jesus, who was God in the flesh. Pastor Furtick (Elevation again, haha) said something awesome a while back in one of his sermon series. He said God is both good and great. He can't be just good and not great, or else He wouldn't be powerful enough to fight for us, to heal us, to be our God; likewise, God can't be great and not good, or else He would be a dictator and anarchist with no penchant for kindness whatsoever. And it's so true. That's why God being for us is such a life-changing concept - He is that combination of good and great. 

If that's not doing it for ya, start with a more simplistic view: God is your ultimate cheerleader, your perfect support system. He's a positive, encouraging force in your life, someone who never drags you through the mud or wears you down. I take great comfort in seeing God through the view of this truth, because then I can hear God clearly everyday, speaking life to me, "You are my own (Exodus 6:7), you are my chosen (1 Peter 2:9), and I will never abandon you (Deuteronomy 4:30-31; Psalm 16:9-11)." Make sense? He's not a bully, a blob or a big-shot, the Giver of life (Job 33:4). If you know Jesus personally, don't get hung up on God's wrath and justice and all the other mud the world flings at Him. Picket-sign prophets on the street corners and Bible-thumping preachers hiding behind their pulpit have painted God in a false light for far too long. Yes, He is just and will exact vengeance...on our enemies, not us. If you know Jesus, you are God's child...why would He turn face and put a holy hit out on you? Do you think God is bipolar or something? When the "Day of Judgement" comes - you know, the one all the poisonous preachers hypes up by damning everyone, because deep down they need to feel secure in their standing with God - yeah, that day is for those who have turned from God. If you're one of those turners, you can still turn back to God! He's for you too, even though you turned from Him. Funny thing is, He doesn't want anyone to experience His vengeance! He'd rather not do that whole "fire-and-brimstone" thing. Read 2 Peter 3:9 for proof.

So what do you do with all this? Well, if you're far from God and would like to turn to Him, message me on Facebook (Shane Tracy) or comment on this blog and I'll share how you can do that! If you know Jesus already, chew on it for a good while, and let it seep into the pores of your everyday life, affecting the way you view the world and God Himself. He's a good God, He's great, and He is for you.