Inspirational Message: God Explains Himself To Us

Each time we walk outside, we can truthfully ask ourselves certain questions that have obvious answers. Who made the grass, the earth, the dew or trees? We know immediately that God exists. None of us can match any of His creations. God demands respect and is jealous. Leviticus 22:32; Matthew 6:9; and Luke 11:2 tell us as believers to respect His name. We are not to use His name carelessly in our conversations, but to always use it with highest honors. Exodus 20:2-26 include the Ten Commandments and other laws from God that demand our obedience and love for Him and we also are told how to love other people.

In Exodus 34:5-7, God told Moses, “I am the Lord the merciful and gracious God. I am slow to anger and rich in unfailing love and faithfulness. I show this unfailing love to many thousands by forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion.” As God was commanding Moses to cut two stone tablets like the first ones with the same words rewritten, Moses was also asked to meet God at the top of Mount Sinai. Other instructions are also given by God who always demands respect. Even in our time , God expects respect while He continues to show mercy and compassion. He is not easily provoked or angered, but promises punishment for sins even to future generations. The Israelites were stubborn, just like other humans sometimes, and Moses asked God for forgiveness for evil and sin while they also sought acceptance as God’s revelations of Himself to us. As our gratitude, respect and love for Him surface, He is always a permanent part of our lives. Our strength comes from Him. Why question God? His power and knowledge are unlimited. Read how Job questioned God’s wisdom (Job 38:2, 4). One reply was, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” God’s replies (Job 38-39) included all kinds of challenges about the universe, death, His omnipotence, natural weather disasters, animal life and the heavenly glimpses that we wonder about in a lifetime. No humans have answers to these questions. Only God knows all the answers. He alone controls all wisdom, understanding and knowledge about heaven and earth.

In Psalm 73, Asaph also questioned God’s wisdom. In verses 2 and 3, Asaph lost faith by envying the foolish and worrying about the prosperity of the wicked. Doubt in God is seen in verse 11 when Asaph said, “Is there knowledge in the Most High?” In the end God creates slippery places for the ungodly and allows them to travel down destructive paths. They can be consumed with terrors (Verse 19)! So Asaph became spiritually alert after realizing how foolish and ignorant he was to question God’s goodness and mercy. In faith Asaph said, “Whom have I in heaven but thee? My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25-26). Is God only in one place? “Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” (Jeremiah 23:23-24). “Can anyone hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? Do not I fill heaven and earth?” God is everywhere and sees everything. Believing this allows us to live accordingly without doubting His existence. Does God know about our troubles? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of all the earth. He never grows faint or weary. No person can measure His understanding. He gives power to those who are tired; He offers strength to the weak as told in Isaiah 40: 27-31. God is absolutely a full-time worker for all of us.

God has explained Himself to us in many more verses. What does He require of us? He wants us to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly before Him (Micah 6:8). It is good for us to draw near to God and to put our trust in Him so that we can continue to testify about His works locally and abroad. God, help us to do greater works in your name!
Mrs. Gladys R. McElmore, a resident of Norfolk’s Middle Town Arch Community, is a New Journal and Guide Freelance Contributor on religion. She is a native of Essex County, Va.