Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Believing in the love and power of God

It is easy to believe in the love and power of God when you are seeing it manifested in your circumstances. Believing in God’s love is harder, however, when He’s not answering a prayer the way you think He should. For years, atheists have advanced an argument against God based on the presence of evil in the world. It goes something like this: If there were a God who is infinite in love, He would want to stop pain. If He is infinite in power, He could stop pain. Therefore, since pain exists, God must not. Perhaps you’ve asked a similar question, even as a believer:

God, why won’t You bless my ministry?
Why aren’t I married yet?
God, why isn’t my business prospering? I’d use the profits to bless others!
God, why won’t You heal me?
God, don’t You see?
Why won’t You help? Don’t You care? Do You not love me?

I can’t answer all the “why” questions, but I do know this: We must not reinterpret how God feels about us based on our circumstances. The cross settles forever how God feels about us, and the resurrection shows us how much power He is using to bring about His good plan for our lives.

-- J.D. Greear,  "Gospel: Recovering the Power that Made Christianity Revolutionary" (pp. 184-185). B&H Publishing Group

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