While in the bathtub this morning I was meditating, worshipping, and doing a little praying for myself and other people when my heart became slightly heavy. It's no secret that times are really hard for lots of people and many find themselves struggling more than ever. However, that wasn't the main source of the unrest in my spirit. What hurts my heart most is the alarming increase of child abuse accusations that are popping up as people try to cope with the traumatic experiences in their lives.

What is MOST disturbing to me is 100% of the accusations of abuse that I know about are absolutely FALSE! People who are sick. broke, hurt, etc are actually accusing our Heavenly Father of being the cause of their affliction.


The combination of years of relationship with Jesus and the birth of my daughter allow me, with great confidence, to reject any notion that God has an ounce of evil in His heart towards His creation. Accusing God, even subtly, of being the source of your struggle or pain is more egregious than falsely accusing a loving father of repeatedly and forcibly punching a newborn in the head.  Matthew 7:10,11 poses the question: Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! Clearly, if we would do nothing to harm our seed, then God (who is PERFECT and LOVE) has no desire to cause harm to us, His seed.


There are times when my 11 month old daughter likes to crawl under the love seat. She inevitably gets stuck and begins to "fake cry"... I didn't place her there and I know she can get out of it so I don't run to her rescue. I know she is uncomfortable but I also know she's not being harmed. I simply watch over her to make sure there is no real danger, talk to her and comfort her, and I wait for her to free herself. In rare instances where she absolutely can't get out, I'll then scoop her up and place her where she should be.


This is a picture of our relationship with God. MOST of what we get into is OUR fault. We spend frivolously or make bad financial choices and then when we NEED money we "fake cry" God is "testing" us. We eat poorly and don't exercise to the point of bad health and then proclaim, "God is taking me through a storm." We enter bad relationships and then when they go sour we insist that it is "God's will." Throughout most of our drama and discomfort, God is strangely silent and simply watching over us for REAL danger and waiting for us to get ourselves out of what we got into. He'll guide us, coach us, and talk to us, but He rarely SNATCHES us out! 


Whether it is something we caused or an issue that we have no control over, if it's evil, DO NOT attribute it to the same God you call your father. James 1:13 clearly instructs us, Let no one say when he is tempted (tested with evil), "I am being tempted (tested with evil) by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt (test with evil) anyone. I know we are used to two-faced people who swear they love us and then do stuff to hurt us, but that is not the character of the Creator. How can we trust someone who speaks out of both sides of their mouth. Either God is for us or He is against us. Before we EVER pray to Him we must settle this issue. Otherwise, we can expect to receive NOTHING from God.


James 1:6-8 sheds light on this issue when it says ...he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.  For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,  being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. We can not be conflicted in our view of God when we approach Him for ANYTHING. We MUST know, without doubt, that His will and thoughts towards us are ONLY good and NEVER evil (Jeremiah 29:11). Otherwise, our faith is subjected to a roller coaster effect and we are always uncertain whether or not God will respond in the affirmative to our requests. 


...he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him (Hebrews 11). To create an environment where God moves on our behalf we must not simply believe that He exists, but we must believe that He IS! Mere existence only implies that I'm alive, but "IS-NESS" denotes that I have character traits. We OFTEN tie God's hands from moving in our situations because we approach Him on the premise that He simply exists. That leaves the door open for all kinds of erroneous statements about Him to escape our lips in prayer. If God could wonder, I'm sure He'd be left wondering who we are talking to or about. To be respectful of God and effective in my prayers I MUST approach Him ONLY on the premise of who He actually IS. I don't pray to the healer if I think He has made me sick. Jehovah Jireh (God the Provider) isn't real to me if I believe He is the cause of my poverty. There is sooo much more I have to say on this issue but I sense the Holy Spirit saying stop here and finish in another blog.


Today, I ANTicipate a GREAT awakening surrounding who our God really is as we seek Him earnestly. His love will DROWN us as we open our hearts to the truth that HE IS FOR US, NOT AGAINST US! I'll NEVER punch my baby in the head and God has never (and never will) punch you!