How many of you have ever been really angry with God?

I’ve known people to get mad at God for everything from not winning the Lottery, to losing a loved one.

Have you ever asked yourself:  Why do I cringe so often on the inside when I hear another talk about how faithful God is? Why do I feel like throwing up when I hear another so joyfully say that ALL things are possible with God? Could it perhaps be because I feel like He has failed me? that He has not protected me and made anything possible? my parents? that are my hopes and dreams like a vapor to him? and that He does not see the depths of my inner struggle?  does He take things away from me?

A fella that God said was “after His own heart” had many complaints.  In the book of Psalms, we read about David unleashing his frustrations with God over and over.  Yet, despite his frustrations, he kept coming back to the fact that God was his good.

That’s encouraging.  Yet, how does that apply to us?

David knew his God.  Many of us do not.  It’s the difference between setting your foundation on sand vs. stone as Rob Bell points out in his video, “Rain”.

Foundation of Sand - we cry out to God because we HOPE He’ll hear us.

Foundation of Stone - we cry out to God because we KNOW He hears us.

So the real question is, “what do you know about God?”  I mean, his character, nature and way is so vitally important to us translating the circumstances around us accurately.  If you think that God is an angry and judgmental being, then you will have reason to cast blame because life is based on your PERFORMANCE…  However, if you know Him as one that is loving, forgiving and empowering you when life gets challenging, then anger cannot be pointed His direction.

God doesn’t want our perfection or our performance…  He is seeking our heart.  And in the middle of your greatest tragedies, your heart is revealed.

Go ahead and be mad at God but we cannot twist and turn God and make him do things our way.  God loves honesty. Getting angry is a an honest emotion.

Abraham argued with God over Sodom

Jacob wrestled with God

Jonah ran away from God

even Jesus said “Take this cup away from me”

Look, if you harbor questions and complaints for too long, they turn into irritation. Irritation turns into bitterness. Bitterness turns into rage. At that point, your heart will shut out anything God tries to say or do for you…  or you may become like some who even think they will “get even” with God if they stop putting their faith in Him, not talk to Him or pretend He’s not there.

Why crummy things happen to people?

I don’t know.  Sometimes, stuff happens.

The truth is, we don’t have all the answers as to why anything happens.  And trying to blame God is not going to fix anything.

Our westernized minds can’t seem to get wrapped around the fact that there are just some things we may never understand.

Our enemy is not God…  nor is it the devil…  our greatest enemy is ignorance.

In the midst of your trial or difficulty, it is the time to run TOWARDS God, not away.  He DOES care and He DOES want to help.  Will you let Him?

 

 I'm Mad at God [33:22m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The theme this month of Jason Bourne and His search for the “real him” is so applicable to us.  We too, know that there’s got to be more to us.  And at times, we made even have moments of clarity where we can connect with that “real me”.  The challenge we all have is to make that identity a reality.

So many of us know there’s more to our lives.  We dream, we imagine.  We may even talk about “one day, I’d like to…”  Yet, so often, those things never come to pass.

We talked about all of the things that get in our way - fear of failure, procrastination, intimidation, feelings of unworthiness, pressures of success, etc.  All of this can get so complicated within our minds and emotions.  However, we have been provided with a way to achieve these purposes…  It’s a power within us.

There are so many writings within the Bible that speak to our identities being equal with Jesus, meaning “all that He is, we are” in this life.  In fact, He even said that we would do greater things than what He did.  God repeatedly emphasizes His ability IN us to bring about things that we, in our own efforts, cannot.

We must first put ourselves in a position to grow.  Call it what you will, self-development, personal development or as I like to call it - transformation.  At some point, we must realize that life as we know it must change.  Our habits, fears, inhibitions and low self worth can only be helped by Jesus…  that’s where we must surrender our selves to the process that only He can take us through and that’s very personal and specific to each of us.  But we must take the first step.

Last night, questions were proposed to stimulate and provoke self awareness.  It is the beginning of us laying our lives down and allowing His creative and caring abilities to transform us from the inside out.  We are invited, each of us, to follow His lead in changing our lives dramatically and effortlessly.

What’s the difference between making decisions motivated by what I fear vs. what I want?

Which is more important and why, the acceptance of others or the acceptance of myself?

What do others gain by knowing me?

If you’d like explanation on the following questions, please email:  angus [Email address: angus #AT# renownhuntsville.com - replace #AT# with @ ]

Are you willing to abandon your comfort zone?     

Are you willing to redefine yourself?  

Are you willing to go where you never have gone, or where you feared going before?  

Are you willing to lose everything?  

When you lose yourself will you be able to find yourself again?  

To listen to our conversation, click play below, or go to our podcast page.

 

 The Born Identity-Power: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Last night, we spoke of the challenges to hear God.  so many of us have had experiences that we KNOW were God but struggle to connect to that more often…  as if someone was speaking Spanish to me and all I can make out are the words I learned years ago on Sesame Street or Dora the Explorer…  bits and pieces.

Yet, the more you practice a language, the more proficient you become in understanding it.  Hearing God is no different.

Rarely do people ever report having actually heard God audibly.  However, He does seem to speak through our built in communication networks.

If we look at our senses, we notice that there are five - hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling and touching.  Then there’s the legendary “sixth” sense.  What if that’s God’s channel?

Similarly, Bruce explained that our spiritual context is not unalike.  He compared the way we hear God through the following:

• Hearing =  Other people around us.
• Sight     =  Visions and Dreams
• Touch   =   Circumstances
• Smell    =   Prayer (which is subjective)
• Taste    =   Written word 

So often, we get some sort of intuition or unction in one of these areas to nudge us in the direction we should go.  Then the question arises, “are we responding”?

Obeying what we’ve already heard is often a reason for us not moving forward in life.  So we’ll end up revisiting the last thing God told us about until we act upon it.  Therefore, obedience is such a large part to operating in His continuous flow.

The beauty is, God is incredibly patient and capable of getting us on track - even when we’ve messed up or ignored Him.

What is He telling you?  Are you acting on it?

Practice listening from this perspective and see what becomes of it.

THIS WEEK:   BBQ at the Nelson’s

For Directions, email:  Skip [Email address: Skip #AT# renownhuntsville.com - replace #AT# with @ ]

Just like the video, people struggle with hearing the voice to the Author of the story. We know we probably should get more out of it, but we have our own interpretations of what’s really going on.

The truth is, the Author is always speaking. We often times hear him, but choose not to listen.

We struggle with issues like:

• Control - he may tell us to go to Uganda, don’t want that!
• Guilt or Shame - we think our past failures have disqualified us from the story
• Excuse not to Succeed - success may require that I change. I’m not ready for that.
• Fear - there’s an element of the unknown… what could happen?

So instead of listening to the Author, the one that created us, knows the best for us and desires the best for us becomes the very one we try to avoid.

Examples include:

• Music- gotta have my tunes on 24/7, mp3 player in my ears
• Television- It’s on, all the time, even if I’m not watching it
• Sports- whether I play them, follow them, or watch them, it consumes me
• Work- I’m a work-a-holic, what can I say
• School- Life-long student going to class after class but never really getting anywhere
• Exercise- overly obsessed with nutrition, health and well being
• Hobbies- all spare time is devoted to this particular interest

It’s not that these things are bad, but that they become the hindrances from what we truly want. The key to listening starts with getting quiet, discovering stillness.

Our thoughts, emotions and ego get so wrapped up with the life around us that can’t slow down. Even worse, we get so exhausted that during the down time, all we want to do is sleep. Furthermore, anytime we do devote to trying to connect with the Author becomes just another line item on the to-do list of life.

What if you could stop trying, struggling or STRIVING to listen to the Author and instead, took on a positon of letting go, relaxing and YIELDING to what’s already inside of you.

“He must increase, I must decrease” as the old writings speak… another place, it’s written, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

God doesn’t usually speak audibly. In fact, there’s some writings that express His communications with us as “spontaneous thoughts, visions, feelings, or impressions”… which would imply that the entire process is more of a “flow” than a “formula”.

The challenge is then to find a place in your life to FLOW: Journal; Paint; Go for Walks; Write; Turn off the radio; Dream; or even Feed the ducks. Do whatever it takes to break the chaos in your life to connect with the Author.

What would happen if you spent the next few months practicing this until it becomes a natural way of life? Try it and let me know what happens.

Next Week:

Katy Kinard