Saturday, July 7, 2007

Rediscovering God


Where do we place God in our lives? Do we place Him at the very center of our existence? Or do we put Him at the farthest corners of our hearts and minds? Some sort of a spare tire to be used when the need arises?

When we are in distress, when fear and anxiety beset us, when tons of problems seem to overwhelm us, when we feel that we could not possibly cope with the stressful situation confronting us, who do we seek? Our doctor? Our psychiatrist? Our closest friend? Our spouse? Our parents or any relative we hold near and dear? When do we turn to God for relief? When things start to fall apart and when we completely lose control of the situation? Then afterwards , we blame God for the disaster that befell us, forgetting that it was caused by us in the first place.

The answers to these questions determine how we relate to God. To most of us, God is a far away and distant despot who does not care about us, leave us to our fate and circumstances, who disturbs our peace when we sin and who demands an accounting from us all the time. But when the chips are down, He is nowhere to be found and do not give an iota of concern whatever happens to us. In fact, God is an ever reliable scapegoat for all our troubles and misfortunes in life. But is He?

God said, "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, 'In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength." (Isaiah 45:22-24a)

He further added, "I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please....What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that will I do." (Isaiah 46:9b-10, 11b)

God is not affected by how we perceived Him to be. He is not changed nor affected by our puny perceptions. He is sovereign. He do as He please. The good news is, He is everything that we could ever think of as good and positive. And He could not contradict His own nature. The bad news (or good news, depending on one's perception) is, He created us with our own free will, and that we have the choice to accept or reject Him. He will never force Himself on us.

There lies the problem. We know that there is a God, but we limit His power over us by our inability to perceive Him as He really is. So we make do with a counterfeit "God" who is capricious, whimsical, moody, revengeful, catankerous, self seeking and avaricious; who expropriates everything for His own glory alone. Pity the people who looks at God this way.

Hosea 4:6a says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." Wrong perception of God may lead us to our own destruction, and greatly tie up God's hands to help us out of our predicament. The only solution is to know the real God through His words in the Bible.

Jesus Christ shows us the way to the Father. "Jesus answered, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me." (John 14:6) Also, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) You want to know the real GOD? Read your Bible.


Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Spiritual/Inspirational

14 comments:

heiresschild said...

hi mel, i'll come back this evening when i get back home to read your new post. i just needed to hear "my song" a few times before i left out this morning. *lol* i must put this on my blog.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Dear Heiresschild,
You are always welcome in my blog. I always get the thrill of my life when fellow Christian visit my blog. It is indeed a rare honor and privilege.

I hope you can install your own video set up in your blog. I love the songs of Hillsong. They're simply fantastic. Very conducive to do praise and worship.

Thank you again and God bless you with all the wonderful things in life.

Hope said...

Thank you for your visit.
Your faith and your family are beautiful

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Dear Hope,
Thanks for visiting my blog and for
the very kind comments.

God bless you in all your endeavors in life.

Emmyrose said...

Hi Mel,

I've been spending sometime reading your blog entries and I am blessed to have met you. Thank you for commenting on my blogs and I appreciate your prayers.

Rediscovering God.. For me, everyday is a chance to rediscover God and you'll be surprised to discover that there is so much more to God that what we know and His love is so great that it is overwhelming. I can relate so much with your post.. I used to blame God for all the sufferings I've been having and He seems so distant. But lately I'm discovering that I am to blame.. I am drawing far away from God because I know I'm not worthy of His grace.

I pray for your healing as well and abundance to your family.

God bless!

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Dear Emmyrose,
I was so happy when I read your comment on my post. It's a lonely ministry I am doing on the internet.
So much bitterness. So much self centeredness. But I cannot do anything except continue to do what I am doing because the Lord led me to it. It's a thankless job though. I have been savagely reprimanded on two occasions for unsolicited advices. And I was only trying to reach out.

So much for my sourgraping though.
I'm amazed at the depth of emotions you carry on your posts. You truly speak from your heart and I admire you more for it. Makabagbag damdamin. Ganda ng pix nyo sa Baguio. They're treasures of a lifetime.

I'm sure our merciful Lord has something wonderful in store for you. Just hold on and hang on to His promises. He is faithful and true.

Thanks again. You're always welcome here. Napakaganda ng blog mo. Very artistic.

God bless you, sister, with all the
showers of blessings and graces God has in store for you in His great storehouse of blessings.

Happy AlegreS said...

Hello, Mel.

A very reflective post on discovering or rediscovering God. Nice one.

stillwaters
http://www.mystillwaters.wordpress.com

P.S.
I hope you can also open your comment section to bloggers from other domain hosts. As it is right now, your blog only allows bloggers with google account. That's why I typed my URL in here. Thanks.

Philip Brubaker said...

Mel,
Thanks for the kind words on my blog. Certainly life is painful for everyone, I would think. Writing poetry is a way for me to turn the pain into (hopefully) something beautiful. At times I go into a spiritual place, sometimes prayer, when I feel overwhelmed or grateful and wish to pay homage to a higher power. I'm glad that you found my blog and I hope to have more visits from you in the future.
thanks,
pj

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Still,
Thanks for visiting my blog and for the very generous and kind comment you made on my post. You're most welcome in my blog.

Regarding the post a comment section of my blog, I'm not aware that it is accepting only those with google accounts. I'm not very well versed in the intricacies of pc's and blogging operations. I was amazed myself because I was using my yahoo email addresss before and my own blog was insisting on my using a google account. I guess this blogging website was designed that way. Anyway, I will seek my son's help to retool my blog so that it can accommodate all website providers. Sorry for the incovenience on your part.

I visited your blog and there is no post yet. I hope I can read one very soon. I'm looking forward to that. Thanks again for visiting my blog.

God bless you with all the wonderful and pleasant things in life.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Pj,
Thanks for visiting my blog and for making a very generous and considerate comment on my post. You're most welcome to visit my blog and to post any comment you want. I will not censor it unless the comment borders on vulgar language and immoralities. I will always respect the opinion of others and will accept any form of criticism provided there is mutual respect.

I have been monitoring your comments on other posts too, especially with bipolar sufferers. I know you are one too, and I assure you, I always include you in my prayers.

Thanks again and you are most welcome to visit this blog and make your own comment.

God bless you with complete healing, the grace to overcome your trials and the love to conquer any negative thoughts that may well in your mind. God bless you with the very best in life.

Ian Lidster said...

Hi Mel: Thank you for all your gracious and kind thoughts of late. Just thought I'd tell you I've established a link to your blog on mine.
Ian

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Ian,
Thanks for linking me in your blog. It is a privilege and honor to me. Thanks too for visiting my blog and for the very kind comment you left behind. I deeply appreciate that. I find your posts very sensible and informative. Your blog is a virtual oasis in the desert of mundane blogs.

God bless you with all the wisdom and
wit in the world.

heiresschild said...

hi mel, you're doing a great work here, and whenever you speak Truth, there'll be some persecutions. be encouraged because the prophets before you and Jesus were persecuted as well. the Bible says when we're persecuted, let it be for righteousness sake, so at least you know you're on the right track, even though at times people's comments can hurt.

i say often that if we live to be 1,000 yrs old, God is so vast, that we still will not know all there is to know about Him. that's one of the good things about our walk with Jesus; every day is a new experience with Him. if couples looked at each other and life like that, i believe there'd be fewer divorces.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Heiresschild,
Thanks again for the very kind and considerate words you left behind. They are music to my ears. At least I know that there are people who understand what I am writing and advocating for. My stand is unequivocal. I live to please God and to do all things for His glory alone. All other things are merely peripheral.

If I cause a wayward soul to see the light of Jesus and His way of salvation, then I say, I have done my part. I strive for no other treasure in life but to serve my God.

Thanks again for the very encouraging words. They are like sweet honey to a starving belly.
God bless you with all the best things that the Lord has stored for you in His great storehouse of blessings. Congratulations again for your well deserved award.


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