We’re relatively new to the Lebanon community, and because it’s a small town, we’ve had a hard time cracking into the community. It’s an experience like the scene in Dumb and Dumber where Lloyd says to Harry, “I want to go somewhere and meet someone who can plug us into the social pipeline!” I feel ya Lloyd.
Anyway, a symptom of this played out on one of Bram’s first baseball teams. His coach was great and well-known in the community – we’ll call the coach Steve. Every time we passed Steve, he said “hi,” and complemented Bram, and we generally felt like he liked us too.
Well, one day, Janna said, “Is something off with Steve? I walked by him and he looked at me like I was crazy when I said hi to him. Steve’s always been cool, but maybe he’s a jerk.”
At the next practice, we saw Steve walk by, and it happened again. But then he walked up to another guy that looked exactly like Steve. It turns out, Mean Steve wasn’t Steve at all, it was Stan, Steve’s twin brother! Stan was actually cool, he just literally didn’t know who we were, but he was helping Steve coach, so we got them all mixed up.
I think the Steve/Stan controversy of 2017 is a window in to some of our interactions with God.
Here’s what I mean: Sometimes, we have an idea about God that is based on something that doesn’t actually have anything to do with God. It may be something we’ve learned from others, it could be a misunderstanding of Scripture or it could be a conclusion simply based on what we see in the world around us.
We based our perception of Steve on our experience with Stan. The way Stan responded was a misrepresentation of Steve. Have you ever taken a wound received at the hands of somebody who follows Jesus as an indication of the character of God? Or, have seen the evil in the world and concluded that God isn’t good? When you’ve prayed that God would come through in a specific way and it doesn’t happen that way, have you ever thought that maybe he just doesn’t care about you?
When you’re frustrated with God, how do you respond? Do you draw inaccurate conclusions about him, or do you go to him for relationship and understanding?
Here’s an exercise for today:
- Read through the following verses slowly.
- What is your reaction to the claim about God in the verse?
- Express that to God no matter where you’re at, then wait for him to speak.
- Write down what you hear (or don’t hear) from God, then ask him to show you why you feel this way.
- Take some time to look for other Scriptures that support this idea.
- God is sovereign and all-powerful – Jeremiah 32:17
- God is always present – Psalm 139:7-10
- The Way, Truth, Life – John 14:6
- God is Love -- Romans 8:38-39; 1 John 4:7-12
- God is Good -- Psalm 34:8
- God is merciful – Ephesians 2:1-10
- God sees your suffering and has himself experienced deep suffering – Isaiah 53; Genesis 16
- Cares for the marginalized (orphans, widows, refugees, prisoners, poor) – Deuteronomy 10:18; Matthew 25:34-40
- God has a unique plan and purpose for you – Ephesians 2:10
This list doesn’t even begin to touch on all the amazing things about who God is, but may this help you to see God a little more clearly than you have before.