Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. Isaiah 40:28 (ESV)
All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. John 1:3 (ESV)
I once had a discussion with a friend regarding God and the current state of the world. My friend focused on the negatives in this world especially, the horrible things people are doing to one another. She wanted to make a case of blaming God for all the bad that is happening in the world. I listened and let her finish, then I responded.
I said God made this world, and us perfect, before sin came into the picture. Our first parents, Adam and Eve did sin however, everyone else who has lived, and is currently living on this planet, have sinned as well. At times we see commentary discussing the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. So often we like to try and “blame” Adam and Eve however, we are reluctant to point fingers at ourselves, and the wrong choices we have made.
I shared with her that God gave all mankind a wonderful gift called, free will. This freedom allows us to choose to do right or the freedom to do what is wrong. The freedom to listen to God, or to listen to our own voice and/or fleshly desires, that the world is constantly inviting us to indulge.
I then shared this, God created this planet, as well as every living creature. He set healthy rules in place and boundaries for us all to live by. These rules and boundaries can be found in His Holy Word, the Bible. In setting these rules, God is not trying to be strict or unreasonable. He understands all too well the repercussions that will follow our sinful choices. God has given us His boundaries in love for our ultimate wellbeing and protection. They are there to help us in making the best decisions for ourselves, and for those around us. If every person chose to abide by God’s guidelines, we would not see the current sinful and fallen state of our world. If we all decided to order our lives according to His laws, there would be no sexual sins, no cheating, stealing, lying, jealousies, disregard for the world He created, and the list can go on and on. But because mankind decides to do what they want, the end result is the current state of the world.
I also shared this thought with her. It’s strange how people want to call on God as if He’s some genie in a bottle that is to come out, only when needed. So, if all is going well, then we will do what we want, even if it’s against His guidelines. Then when things go wrong, we expect God to fix it immediately, so we can go back to living life the way we want, once again. And if He doesn’t fix things on demand and the way we would like, He’s then labeled mean and uncaring. These characterizations are wrong and very far from the truth.
The Creator of the universe is not a genie that we can command when we want. He is not God in a box. However, God is always there for us all. He is there to listen to our prayers and to help us out of various situations we may find ourselves in. May we be willing to follow God’s commands and choose to live our lives making choices, according to His Word.
Let us not in our minds, look to put God in a box and to pull Him out only when we need Him. Let us keep God and His Holy Word upfront and the center of our lives. May we desire to seek to make choices and decisions, based on what He would do, in any and every situation.
Blessings,
Angélique
To contact: Angelique@21stcenturygodlyliving.com
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