Differing Views of God

   It is obvious that those who murmur, or even publicly express their displeasure with the Lord, have a dim view of God. Likewise, the complainers who blame God for all their woes, have a low opinion of Him. The ones who are displeased with God, tend to think of Him as some sort of cosmic servant Who should bend to their every whim. Heaven forbid He should fail to perform to their liking. If things don’t go your way, do you get angry with Him? If so, your view of Him is probably not as high you would like to believe.

   How many mentally elevate themselves above God? They criticize Him for the state of the world, and believe they have the moral high ground. Yes, some believe they are more honorable than God. They believe God should think like them. After all, they would do things differently. Similarly, numerous individuals seek to form Him into their image.

   Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

   Those who recognize He is God and we are not, have greater access to wisdom. Those who recognize and deeply appreciate God as their Father, are more grateful and content. People who hold Him in the highest esteem, tend to experience more joy, and can more readily walk by faith. Because they view Him with trust, they have peace. Conversely, those who mistrust Him fail to experience any of these.

   We could continue with contrasts, but the question is, how do you view God?

Carefully Consider Your View of God

   Isaiah 45:22-24 Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. “I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. “They will say of Me, ‘Only in the LORD are righteousness and strength.’ Men will come to Him, And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.

   Some arrogantly say they will tell God a thing or two when they come face to face. “I’ve got questions for Him to answer,” others impudently say. Really? When reading accounts of those who came face to face with God in the Bible, you will find not one of them could say anything to Him, until He allowed them. They found themselves facedown before God, and yes, they confessed He is Lord. They all trembled in His presence.

   Romans tells us, For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, “AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD.” So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God (Romans 14:10-12).

   Now is the time to discover the magnitude of God’s greatness. Incidentally, His greatness is immeasurable. The time will come when all must face Him. It would be better to revere and love Him now, than to discover you held the wrong point of view when you have to give an account of yourself to Him. Similarly, it would be best to meet the Lamb of God, before meeting the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

   Isaiah 55:7-9 Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Your View of God Affects Your Life

   The way you live, the decisions and choices you make are all intertwined with your view of God. Some live joyfully, while others are miserable. Here we go again with contrasts. Okay, just one more. The size of your problems correlate with how big you see God as being. If you exalt the problem, God will be small in your eyes. Conversely, if you exalt God in your heart and put your faith in Him, that problem will find its way into the sea.

   Mark 11:22-23 And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.

   Many problems would be non-issues, if some would begin with the fear of the Lord. By obtaining the wisdom of God, they would avoid them altogether. That’s not to say problems will never come their way if they have deep relationship with Him; however, they needn’t fear them, because they know God has the solutions. Conversely, if they don’t hold Him in high esteem, they may not even consider asking for His wisdom. How you view God affects your life and, how you will spend eternity.

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