No God Would…

We ought to have far more fear of God than we do of someone’s concept of God.

Recently, I just starting noticing (it’s been happening since…let’s see…creation?!) the number of concepts people communicate about God. On a weather site, the following comment was published:

If any GOD had any pull on weather [conditions] , We’d have beautiful days forever.

How common is this kind of statement? I’m reminded of Job’s friends who all thought they knew God. I’m reminded of the false prophets from Jeremiah’s day who were ousted by God in His revelation to Jeremiah. I’m reminded of…well…pretty much everyone, including myself, who has ever looked to an “image” of God, either molten or mental, as J. I. Packer says, thereby reducing His glory.

“I also withheld rain from you
when the harvest was still three months away.
I sent rain on one town,
but withheld it from another.
One field had rain;
another had none and dried up.
People staggered from town to town for water
but did not get enough to drink,
yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord. – Amos 4

Let us take care that we do not reduce God with statements like “No God would…” or “God wouldn’t” or [ad infinitum].

We ought to have far more fear of God than we do of someone’s concept of God.

True or False: Worry is Part of my Personality

true, but what else are you saying? If this is another way of saying “this is just the way I am and I cannot change”, then it is false. If this is another way of saying “I am, by nature, sinful”, then it is true.

Regardless of whether a sin is part of your genes or not, the Bible is clear: we are all sinful and naturally alienated from God.

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. – Ephesians 2:1-3

But praise be to God who does not leave us there:

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. – Ephesians 2: 4-10

28. List five specific steps of biblical action a person suffering from fear and worry should take.

  1. Forgive others.

    Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. – Ephesians 4:32

  2. Bask in God’s truth.

    Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. – Psalm 119:105

  3. Rejoice in the Lord, pray always with thanksgiving.

    Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:4-7

  4. Think purely.

    Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. – Philippians 4:8-9

  5. Avoid situations which bring worry and fear if possible. Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. – Psalm 1:1-3