God is the Better Man

I have heard it so many times, people are always wanting to know why God does things to them. That's right, people actually believe that it is all God's fault when bad things happen to them. I am here to testify that God is not out to get you. God does not desire for terrible things to happen to His followers and believers. You may have a hard time believing this but it is the truth.

You see, God is a better person than you and I. He is always there for us when we need Him no matter what we have done. He doesn't care what time it is or how little our problem may be. Think about it, we have all had one of those friends that just grated on our nerves. You know the one I am talking about - that clingy friend who is always calling to whine, moan or groan about some ridiculous little item. They call in the middle of the night and make no sense. They are constantly in need of something whether it is to borrow money or to hitch a drunken ride home in the middle of the night.

At some point in our lives we have confronted this annoying friend. We have said something along the lines of, 'Hey, get your act together and quit asking me to do everything for you!". We have ignored their midnight phone calls, avoided them at social gatherings. Lucky for you and me, we have a God that would never ignore our calls in the middle of the night. He would never avoid us on the street or shun us in public or otherwise.

We have a God who answers all calls. He does not scoff at our everyday, ridiculous pleadings for assistance. He does not turn his back on our immature desires for unending favors. To blatantly honest we ask for some pathetic things sometimes. I have begged for a car deal to go through before. It didn't, but there was a very substantial reason why I am glad that God didn't help that one along! God is a better person than us because His love is unlike anything that we could ever imagine. We could never begin to emulate the compassion and understanding God has for mankind.

God created us to be dependent on Him. His ultimate test has been to give us the power of free-will just to see if we would love Him enough in return to cast our every need on Him. God actually wants to help us with every little thing in our life no matter how absurd the request may be. I have met so many people who have said to me, "I wouldn't dare ask God to help me find a parking place in a crowded mall parking lot. That is just silly." Why not? If you are in need it is God's longing for you to call on him for help.

As humans we seek the ability to depend on no one except ourselves. We strive to be the protectors of everyone whom we love dearly so that we can be further empowered in our humanity. We must take at least that from our Heavenly Father. God loves those who call on Him to help them with everything. Don't you feel amazing when someone calls on you to solve a problem? Isn't it wonderful if it is something tiny that you know the other person didn't really have to ask your help for? It is flattering isn't it to be needed, your expertise to be called upon to help someone in need.

When people accuse our Lord of bringing down the rains of misfortune upon them it makes me openly wonder what events transpired to bring them to this revelation. Did these people open their lives and hearts to God's guidance or did they wait until the flood came to call out for help? The answer is usually the latter. People often wait until they have become overwhelmed by troubles, their tiny boats in a vast ocean capsize under the pressure and waves of troubled water, to call on God. It is at this point that God becomes the bad guy. "He should have helped me!" they proclaim. They are absolutely, without a doubt, sure that God had forseen their struggles and deliberately ignored them. I'll agree with the fact that God probably saw it all coming, probably saw it all happening too. However, I will disagree with the fact that He innocently let it all 'happen' to you.

God sees our struggles but He tries to stay out of the way. What kind of life with free-will would it be, after all, if God was constantly and noticeably steering your vessel for you? God gave us the options of doing it all ourselves, doing it all our way. We have every opportunity to call out for help when a crisis comes along. God patiently waits on the shores, most likely thing, "Oh my, I hope he's watching out for that wave coming up. I hope that he asks for me to help me if he can't do it on his own." Then, that wave comes upon you, frantically in your favor God probably sighs, "I guess he's got it all under control".

Imagine God's surprise when your tiny boat springs a leak and you start taking on the waters of your turmoil and you blame it all on Him! Now God must be doubly hurt. He now has His most precious creation bruised and battle-torn, hurt and disappointed by a battle you couldn't win on your own. Plus, He has you shouting and cursing to high-heaven crying out, "God why didn't you help me?". I can only imagine this job is frustrating for God.

I suppose my best advice is to let you know that God sees your struggles. He has a plan for your strife too. God wants you to live this miraculous life that He has provided for you. He wants you to win all the battles. Heck, He even wants you to lose one or two along the way just so you can learn something from it. But above all, God wants to help you. Like a loving and watchful parent, He wants to give you that leash so that you can have your breathing room... so you can 'do it all yourself'. But God wants to be there to help you when you need it, He just needs for you to let him know when it's ok for Him to intervene.

There is no unplanned struggles in your life. God has planned all of the solutions to every problem you could ever incur during your lifetime. God cares and if asked, He will provide the right answer to whatever problem you have. You must remember that God's answer may not always feel like the right answer at the time. It may not be the answer that you want, but if you look back down the road years later you will be able to see and understand the decision that was rendered at the time.

I hope these ramblings help you to understand that you are loved by God. God harbors only good will for His followers, God only knows love and forgiveness for you. Will you quit blaming God for the problems in your life and start asking Him for His guidance instead?