Surprised by God

One of the most common myths about God is that he wants to suck the joy out of life. 

Nothing could be further from the truth.

God invented pleasure

• Food? God created that. He created the food and he created the taste buds, sense of smell, and teeth that enable us to enjoy it.

• Sex? He is the one who invented sex. The emotions. The bond. The excitement. The hormones. The pheromones. The children. Everything that makes sex sex is God's gift to humanity.

• Music? God again.

• Work? Yes, work can be a pleasure. That sense of accomplishment when you've done your job well? That comes from God. God created us to work and enjoy it.

• Art? God gave us raw materials, creativity, and senses to make and enjoy art.

There's a Bible story that drives the point home for me. As Jesus began his earthly ministry he was invited to a wedding. Jesus accepted the invitation. During the festivities (which typically lasted a week) the host ran out of wine. This was a huge embarrassment in that culture. The Jesus many believe in would have probably said something like, "Hey, you have water. Water is good enough. You'll survive." But the Jesus of the Bible did something quite different. He turned several gallons of water into wine. I see this as a demonstration of one of Jesus' teachings:

The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly. 

                                                             -- Jesus (John 10:10)

Don't believe the hype. Jesus isn't out to steal from you! His desire is that you receive abundance from him. The only question is whether you are willing to receive it. 

God didn't bring you this far to leave you now

God brought his people out of slavery in Egypt.

• While pursued by an enemy too strong for them, their progress was halted by the Red Sea. They thought they were going to die. So God parted the waters, allowing them to cross on dry ground. Their enemies were killed when they tried to follow suit.

• Then they went 3 days without water. When they did find water it wasn't fit to drink.  So the Lord showed Moses a tree that would make the water safe to drink.

• The nation of Israel was in the wilderness without enough food to eat. They thought they would die. So God rained bread out of heaven.

• Again, the people were without water. And again they thought they were going to die. So God told Moses to strike a rock with his staff. When he did water gushed from the rock. 

Sound familiar? Life is filled with trouble. That doesn't mean that you're out of God's protection and care. Every new trial is an opportunity to trust and obey God. He'll never fail you.