A really tough man never has to prove anything to anybody, he knows what he can do and he doesn’t care even a mite whether anybody else knows or not.”
–Louis L’Amour (The First Fast Draw)
“The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise him— my father’s God, and I will exalt him!”
–Exodus 15:2 (NLT)
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“My Father, I don’t understand Thee, but I trust Thee.”
–unknown
I have heard over the past years that we must have a “relationship” with God. And that is true. He is our heavenly Father. The issue becomes when things, circumstances, situations, storms and battles happen and we don’t understand what is going on, or why. Do you still trust your heavenly Father?
What kind of relationship do you have with Him?
Let me give you four ways that God is in charge (thanks to Stephen Brown). These are four ways in which we can begin to put our complete trust in Him.
1) He creates! He is the First Cause.
Maybe you have started a project, job, or even a career and you began with fear and trembling. Perhaps you even failed in your endeavor. We do not have the assurance that when we start something that it will happen, that all will go according to plan. However, God always achieves the results He intends. “When He created, He knew every single, minute effect of that creation.”
2) He sustains! Deism, any form of it, it false!
God is always there; He is always working. The laws of nature were put in place and will continue to be constant until He decides differently.
3) He acts! God is a God of action.
He is now sitting with His feet propped up on the throne. He is not in a backroom or on vacation. He is not stuffed somewhere in a display in a museum. He is involved with His creation, especially involved with His children and will often intervene in creation for them. He interacts with His children.
4) He plans for the future! In reality, the future has already been planned.
“History moves in the exact direction that God intended; it is the manifestation of His plan.” Remember, we are co-workers in that plan.
I read just yesterday that there are those, believe it or not, who say that theology is not needed, but only a relationship. Theology means the study of God. As a child growing up you studied, whether you realized it or not, the actions of those around you, especially your parents–for good or bad. You got to know them. The same is true concerning God. We must study who He is; what does His Word say about Him? How can we become like Him, if we do not know Him? There can be no relationship without a proper theology.
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Ponder This: A man had to kill his best friend in order to save him from a terrible death. How would you react if that was you? Would you become despondent and depressed? Perhaps you would have the inclination to run away. What would you do if this person was a friend of yours? Would he be worth searching for and salvaging? This is what happened to Elias Butler and he friend, Miles Forrest is on a quest to find his friend.
REDEMPTION is now on sale on Amazon. This is Book 3 in the life of Elias Butler. Buy it, you’ll like it. You can order it, and when it comes, take some time with a cup of coffee to read about the continuing adventures of Elias Butler.