Where Is God? III
Let’s get to a more personal question “If God is everywhere all the time and in all circumstances why doesn’t God get me out of situations I do not want to be in?”
God’s objective, conceived before the beginning of time, was to find you holy and blameless in his sight through Jesus Christ. (Eph. 1: 4-6) God, through his grace, has already done for you what no one else, including you, can do for you, to find you holy and blameless in his sight. Thinking eternally He owes you nothing more. He actually never owed you eternal life. God is love so he did that out of love. That is grace.
Jesus provided an example of how God views and handles trials and tribulations among his believers. “Not my will but thy will” His final word to his disciples was both a command and a promise. The command was to go into the entire world and make followers of Jesus and the promise was that he woul be with them to the very end of the age. (Mt 28:20)
It is a historical fact that his followers obeyed the command and suffered great persecution, even death. The promise was fulfilled because enabled the Holy Spirit to be with them to help endure the persecution and suffering. We are not yet to the end of the age so Jesus continues to be with us today through the Holy Spirit and we should expect to be treated the same as he treated his followers.
One of the problems we have today is that we want the promise but do not keep the command. God still keeps his promise but the promise is tied to the command. (Jn 14: 15-16)
The point is that in all circumstances God is there for us as he was for them through the Holy Spirit. He is there not to “bail us out” but to help us get through the circumstances. God’s help comes by praying to him.
The first half of prayer is to call on him and then listen for him to speak to you. Listening to God speak is done in several ways; through the Bible; through our minds; and through others speaking into our lives. In each of these the Holy Spirit is our mediator with God. That is why Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as the helper. (Jn 14: 26) In the original Greek “helper” is paracletos, meaning counselor, comforter and advocate. Nothing in the meaning says that the Holy Spirit is a “problem solver”.
Our various trials should be viewed as a testing of our faith to produce a stronger more perfect faith a greater Godly wisdom. (James 1: 2-5)
