In the essay What God Loves, I was considering God’s purpose for creating a world where so many people choose hate and violence over love and compassion. God created this world and all that is in it. He knew before the first day of creation what would be happening in the year 2026. He knew of all the people who would suffer from war, torture, persecution, starvation, and on and on. He knew of our propensity to harm and hate each other. He knew of all the evil we would choose to do. Yet, He created us anyway. Why would a loving God choose such a thing?
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
I agree that we lack the ability to understand God or understand what He is doing. We may never know what purpose there could possibly be in the creation of a world that rebels and suffers century after century. He gives us the Tanakh/Bible, prayer, prophets, and stories of many people through out history struggling with God. His ways are definitely not our ways. But He tells us if we will trust and obey Him, He will bless and protect us. So, this is our choice: do we agree to trust what we cannot understand, or do we continue to do what we think is best? History tells me trusting God is better than trusting ourselves. Obeying God is better than developing our own schemes to solve problems.
Trusting and obeying is not easy, probably never easy. So many times. God makes no sense to us. I have argued with and yelled at God more times than I wish to admit. I have many scars from what the world and/or Christians do to me when I trust and obey God. Despite the scars, anger, and confusion, I am grateful for where I am now. I am closer to God than ever before. I have greater strength in the fight against evil. I understand other people’s bad behavior at a deeper level than in the past. I find it easier to talk, care for, and love people who behave badly. I feel little need to seek revenge on those who would harm me. I live in a broken and evil world, yet I see goodness in many places and people. God’s undying love is here in ways many cannot discern.
My greatest wish for myself is that I took the trust and obey part of scripture more seriously earlier in my life. I do not regret my many difficult conversations with God. He can handle anything I throw His way. But by struggling with things He wanted me to do rather than humbly accepting His wisdom, I missed so much of His love through the decades. He has a purpose in my life. I am only beginning to understand. It is a far greater purpose than any of my emotional or egotistical outburst could predict. His wisdom and His gentleness with a disobedient child amaze me.
In many ways God has told Israel if you will fear, trust, and obey God, He will bless you with overwhelming blessings, Now is the time to learn how to simply trust God and let him show you His ways, His wisdom, His blessings, It will be difficult to give up many of your ways and beliefs but His blessing are beyond our understanding. I pray to be able to give this message to everyone in the world. If obedience to God will bring peace and demolish anger in the Middle East, then there is hope for the entire world.
The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.
God understands that change takes time. He is patient and Israel is the apple of His eye. Moses’ song includes Deuteronomy 32:9-12
For the Lord’s portion is his people,
Jacob his allotted inheritance.
10 In a desert land he found him,
in a barren and howling waste.
He shielded him and cared for him;
he guarded him as the apple of his eye,
11 like an eagle that stirs up its nest
and hovers over its young,
that spreads its wings to catch them
and carries them aloft.
12 The Lord alone led him;
no foreign god was with him.
Trust and obey God to bring peace to Israel by starting with these verses (click here). God cares about all people even those who we hate and believe would harm us, But God knows better than us how to solve our problems. He repeatedly told ancient Israel to treat the foreigner among them with the same kindness other Israelites receive. Begin by letting the Palestinians live in their homes and own their land, growing their crops, harvesting their trees, raising their livestock, without interference from Israelee neighbors. Start making attempts to give the Palestinians the same laws and rights as Israelites receive. Start with small steps. Pray daily for God to give you the wisdom, humility, and strength for you to do what God wants. Pray for God to open your heart to see others as God sees them. Anger, hatred, and revenge will not disappear in a day. But kindness can be planted, watered, and nourished into a stalk, a bush, a tree, and even an orchard. With God all things are possible. If you need to spend time yelling at God, it is better than yelling at other people. God is far more patient and understand of you than anyone else. He would prefer for you to yell at Him rather than harm others. At least that has been my experience.