How Do You See God?

A few years ago, I was teaching a yearlong prayer group. The goal of the group was to not just pray- but learn how prayer was interactive. One goal (apart from praying longer than 2 minutes and just saying grace or agreeing with any Sunday morning prayer), was to actually - Hear from God Himself. This took Time and a listening ear, also practice and a knowing of the scriptures (because God never speaks and contradicts His word – so you Must know the word to know what you hear – Is God). Anyway… 

I often started with a question. One day, up until the minute of class beginning, I Had Not received anything from God to present to the people (I too had to listen). I had nothing to teach on or pray over. We began to worship and I heard God speak and He simply posed one 5-word question: How Do You See God? Well. WOW. I posed the question to the people there (then paused). Some began to cry and weep. I said a few words like – HOW can you see God as a Good Good Father (like the song we used to sing), if Your father was absentee, or abusive. If you were abused or beaten by your dad; did you attribute those things to God, our Father? 

I restated the question the Holy Spirit shared – How Do You See God? Then I was silent. One by one – each person began to break down and share their testimonials of darkness as they wept. They thought to themselves (and asked back) … How Have I really been seeing God? Do I just take other people at their word? The pastors who say repeatedly that He is Good? How do I know He is (some said aloud)? A few pondered and asked back – IF God is God, HOW could He have allowed This to happen to me at the hands of my parent (friend or acquaintance)?

God is one who has human characteristics: 

He laughs. 

Has Joy. 

Feels Pain. 

Loves deeply. 

Can be grieved. 

Heb 4:15 says that Jesus understands human weakness because he faced every kind of test and temptation that people face, but he never sinned. We sometimes sin – by accusing God falsely. We think He is distant from us when he is actually In the Fire with us. Crying with us. Yet loving us through our hard times. He reminds us in scripture to "Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world"(John 16:33). It just doesn’t feel like that in the moment.

Remember Job’s dilemma? His friends said God did these things to him because he (Job) was bad and needed to confess his sins. Job asserted He did nothing and he would NOT Charge God foolishly, yet his body had sores, his family died and all he had left was his nagging wife who suggested he just Curse God and Die! We may listen to people like Job’s friends who suggested he accuse God. 

We cannot just accuse God for the thing people have done to us. We choose to swap our bad earthly dad for Our Father in heaven. We exchanged our church hurt - and make it what GOD DID. But - It wasn’t God.

Granted nothing happens that is not God filtered or God allowed. Being sovereign, He owes us No Explanation. Maybe Like Job – He trusted you enough to speak well of Him in times of trouble – like David, or Job (see Job 13:15). Selah… (that means think about that for a minute). 

I would encourage you to forgive. Forgive the one that hurt you. Forgive GOD – Because – deep down, you feel that your hurt (That thing that happened to you, that abuse, that slap, those words – ‘I Hate You’, “I wish you had Never been born’…) God did it or allowed it, or God said it. IF your earthly father said or did those things – HOW Could your heavenly Father be any different? Is that How you see God? FORGIVE. Forgive your dad. Your church leaders. Those who hurt you. We are not perfect beings. We also hurt, grieve, suffer lack, can’t always make ends meet. That does Not mean God is Not Good. He Is. He is actually Good ALL The time (Ha! And All the time – God IS GOOD!). He Loves Us. He Loves YOU. He is THE Good Father. Psalm 27:10 states, "Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me." Those words out of the mouth or Jesus have not changed for Millenia. So. How do You See God?

AM