What do you think when you hear someone talking about an “act of God”?You know, the things the insurance companies and news stations label like tornadoes that destroy entire neighborhoods, floods that completely ruin towns, and viruses that run rampant around the globe?
What do you really believe about God and about His character when you hear things like that?
Because so many people have been tricked into believing that God isn’t good. Satan has worked overtime for more than 2,000 years telling people lies and distorting the character of God. It’s his goal to convince as many people as possible that God isn’t good or trustworthy.
Satan wants you to believe that God is unpredictable;
that He’s good to some people, but that He “allows” bad things to happen to teach people lessons or to punish people for wrong choices; that He takes people from earth early because He “needs another angel in heaven”; or that He just flat out expects too much from us.
But those are all lies.That’s not God’s character.
Why does it matter what you believe about God's character?
Because in order for you to live in all that God has for you, you must have a right perception of who He is.
How you live your life and the outcomes of your life are dependent on how you view God.
You must have a proper perspective of His character.
How can you find out what's true about His character?
1. Read the Bible.
We learn about God’s character from His Word. His Word shows us clearly who He is:
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. -
James 1:16-17
For everything God created is good… -
1 Timothy 4:4
GOD IS GOOD. He is always the same. He does not change.
And He doesn’t do bad things to people.
To say that God does bad things to good people doesn’t match what the Bible says about Him and who He is.
Acts 10:38 says Jesus went around doing GOOD
and healing ALL
who were oppressed of the devil.
It’s Satan who oppresses, not God. God doesn’t’ change depending on the situation. His character will never change. He is ALWAYS
good. You can trust Him.
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
2. Ask Him.
God is the God of answers. He wants us to understand His Kingdom and how it operates so we can experience His promises in our lives and effectively walk out our God-designed futures.
You need knowledge of who God is and how His Kingdom operates. You can't receive from Him or fully believe His promises to you if you have a faulty picture of Him and His Kingdom.
Have you ever built something that ended up not working? Ever stood back and looked at something you did and said, ‘Wait a minute. Something is wrong here?’ You got frustrated, right? Then you went back to the instructions you never bothered to read in the first place and you start dissecting everything and you realize you have a screw in the wrong place, a wire disconnected, and that you need batteries. When you finally fix the issues, and get it in alignment, it works just like it was supposed to.
The BIBLE is just like that. It’s supposed to work just like it says. If there’s a malfunction, it is NEVER on God’s end.
He wants to tell you WHY it’s not working. He wants to help you make changes, tell you exactly where you missed it, and give you the right picture of Him and His Kingdom. So, ask Him! Pray and ask Him where the malfunction is!
Friend, what you believe about God and His character sets the stage for your entire belief system.
No matter what may be going on around you—what trial you may be facing or situation you might be in—you can stand steadfast knowing that God is good and faithful and that His plan is to work in everything for your good.
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