Is God Dangerous?

Is God dangerous?

“The intelligent person recognizes that his or her well-being lies in being in harmony with God …God is not mean but he is dangerous (Willard  2012).

When I read this quote I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes from the Chronicles of Narnia: “He is not a tame lion.” The lion, Aslan, was C.S. Lewis’ representation of Jesus Christ, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. In this scenario two people who had gone astray were discussing whether to give themselves willingly into the hands of the Lion for judgment or to run away. When one asked another how the Lion would respond, this was the answer. “How should I know?” “He is not a tame Lion.”

The depiction of Jesus Christ here is near-perfect. God is holy and just, but he is not tame. Some have a picture of God as a heavenly Santa Claus who gives out gifts to good little boys and girls. Nothing could be further from the truth. Though there is a reward in serving God, we must not serve God only for the rewards. We must serve him because He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He breathes fire on His enemies and devours His opponents. There is no one that can stand before the fierceness of His anger. When Jonathan Edwards depicted this in his now-famous treatise, Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God, it is said that people fainted in the audience for fear of God’s anger.  

I do not serve God for fear. I serve Him because I am in love with Jesus. He is my dearest and best friend. He is an ever present comfort in every situation. Yet I would be a fool to say that I do not fear Him. This would be more than dangerous. I would be gambling with my soul. I am afraid that the modern church is guilty only of preaching John 3:16 and omitting Hebrews 10:31 and Hebrews 12:29. Let us love God. He is lovable. But let us never cease to fear Him. After all, He is God!

Willard, D. (2012). Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ. Colorado Springs, CO: NAVPRESS.

 

Yes, I can.

I Samuel 30:6 - David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.
One of the more difficult parts of counseling is overcoming the "I can't" syndrome. If a person thinks s/he can't, s/he won't even try and thus is defeated before s/he has begun. An effective way to overcome this is to have the counselee tell you about something s/he has overcome in the past. This can be done with an open ended question. Can you tell me about the last time you started a new job? How did you overcome the anxiety that time? How did the job turn out for you? If s/he starts thinking about it, s/he will convince him/herself that s/he can do this after all.

Church folks have a phrase for this as well. It is called a testimony. You know that time we used to give on Wednesday night for people to stand and say something for Jesus? Often these testimonies followed a pattern:

1. I had a problem.
2. I didn't know what to do.
3. I knew God had done it before.
4. I prayed and he did it again.

Did you notice the pattern? The person had to remind himself that he had come through a trial before and he would make it through again. Often the answer to the problem was simply getting rid of the "I can't attitude." There is something powerful about believing in oneself and one's own ability to get the job done.

We Christians have an even greater advantage. We are not just trusting in our own ability. We are trusting in an all powerful God who has an awesome track record. He has never lost a battle and never will. He is always in control and never lacks self confidence. Are you facing an obstacle today? Is there a difficult decision directly in your path? Are you uncertain of what to do? Don't despair. Just follow the above guideline with a few modifications.

1. I have a problem.
2. God knows what to do.
3. He has done it before.
4. He will will show me what to do (or not do) this time.
5. Therefore it is not a problem.

Above all, face the situation with an " God and I can" attitude. Remember, God is on your side. Together there is nothing you can't accomplish. Sometimes we wonder why God has not already worked out a certain situation for us. I believe it is often because he wants us to take the first step. Like a parent coaxing a child to try, God wants us to realize that we can. Sure, He is there to help us, but He can't help us if we won't try. "Believe in yourself" is not contrary to the word of God. "Believe in God and yourself" is an unstoppable combination.

Believe in yourself! God does and you should to.

I can,

Sullivan Jones




 

The Windshield Wiper

Job 23:10 - He knows the way that I take: when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

It was a pretty normal afternoon as my wife and I left her mother's house to head home. We had a two hour drive and were anxious to get home before dark. It takes less than ten minutes on a winding country road to get to the highway from my mother in law's home. After that it is four-lane highways most all the way home. When we left her house it was clear and the sun was shining but right as we pulled onto the highway it started to rain heavily. You know one of those downpours that don't last long but can flood the streets in a few minutes? I reached instinctively for the windshield wipers. When I turned them on the passenger's side wiper blade flew off and sailed away. It was raining hard so I told my wife I was going to stop at the truck stop that was just head. When we stopped at the truck stop we decided to go in and eat at the Subway inside and see if the rain would slack up. Sure enough, while we were eating the rain slowed to a drizzle. 

We got back on the highway within about thirty minutes and continued north about twenty minutes to Hattiesburg, MS. Just as we were approaching the exit to get onto the interstate we saw that there had been a bad accident. The wrecker was in the process of hauling the vehicle away. In that moment I knew without a doubt that if my wiper blade had not flown off of the car we would have been involved in that accident. We could possibly have been killed. I am sorry for whoever was involved but I knew then that God had his hand on us. As the Biblical writer Job said, "He does know the way that I take." There is no situation I can find myself in that God is not aware of. If I commit my life to him, he will direct me. When I am seeking to please him I can be assured that anything that comes my way is no accident. 

God decided to spared our lives that afternoon but that is not the most comforting thing to me. My comfort is in knowing that He is guiding me. Had it been my time, I would have gone to be with Jesus. When that day does come, I will be ready. Until then I will trust the Lord with all the twists and turns of my life knowing that He is in control. There is no better way to live! 

In His Service,

Spanish Pastor Jones