God is not my Personal Genie!

The Problem with God

On August 17, 2015 

 By Phuong K. Schuetz   In Faith

 

I used to like watching a TV series called Bewitched because Sam, the witch and main character of the show, could twitch her nose and use her magical powers to make things go her way and get the people around her to do what she wanted.  To be honest, there are times when I wish God would be like Sam and use his powers to give me what I want.

The problem with God is, he is not my personal genie!  He can’t be controlled or manipulated to do things my way.  Being a control nut, I like to have everything figured out and of course I want to figure God out too.  The problem with God is, he isn’t who my mind imagines him to be because he doesn’t do what I think he should do when I think he should do it!

This inability to figure God out has been a source of frustration for me through various trials.  I tend to ask God the “why” question a lot!  The problem with God is, he usually doesn’t answer my questions and prayers the way I wish he would but, he does answer!  Most of the time, I don’t like his answers or agree with them so I assume God is not real and powerful enough to work in my problems.  When God doesn’t answer specifically, I presumed he is not concerned about me.

The problem with God is, his ways are not easy or comfortable to accept.  In every life situation, I have a choice to either push into God or pull away from him.  My human instinct is to pull away from God when I can’t understand his answers.  The unnatural way or the path God wants me to choose is to always push into him especially when the answer doesn’t make sense and I can’t figure out what he is doing.  As I push into God with a heart that wants to know him more, he begins to show me how real he is by doing unexpected and unexplainable things in my life.

Funny thing is, the better I know God, the more I trust he will answer my prayers in ways  that will grow my faith.  When his answer is different than what I had hope for, I’ve learned to handle the disappointment like the apostle Paul.  I boast about my suffering because I’ve seen how it has produced in me endurance for a life of faith in the real God.  He gives me his strength to endure difficulties with the purpose of shaping my character.  He continues to flush out impurities in me such as selfishness, pride, fear and controlling tendencies so I might learn how to hope and anticipate his goodness (Romans 5:3-4).  Without trials, my faith would not have been awaken to how real God is because I would have missed out on experiencing his healing power, his protection, and his provision.

Friends, whatever you are struggling with right now, the problem is not with God.  Your predicament may seem daunting but God wants you to know he is real and he cares deeply for you.  Don’t pull away from him to go with your own ideas and efforts or you will forfeit God’s real power and goodness in your life.  Being overwhelmed is your cue to push further into God for help. Then, be on the lookout for God to move in supernatural ways on your behalf!  Your faith in God will be awakened as you witness his amazing works in your life!