November 15, 2024
“And it is only as God becomes more remote—a God who is all-loving only in the abstract, not in the sense of having suffered and died for us to rescue us from evil—that he seems unbearably callous in the face of pain. In short, theism without certainty of salvation or resurrection is far more disillusioning in the midst of pain than is atheism. When suffering, believing in God thinly or in the abstract is worse than not believing in God at all.”
— Rev. Timothy Keller
In our grief, an abstract God or an idea of God won’t be much help to us. We need a real God who thoroughly understands our humanity because he has lived it, he has suffered, he has seen others suffer. A God like that will also suffer with us and show compassion. That’s the kind of God we have. We can turn to him, even if we’re angry with him. But even if we’re angry with him, he’ll always be there for us.
Just because you go to church and worship God doesn’t mean you have a personal relationship with him — the kind of relationship where you can turn to him with every need, with every pain and with every heartbreak and expect him to be there. You need a God who is more than a theological entity. You need your God to be bigger than that. If you don’t have him, ask him for help, and he’ll be sure to deepen your relationship.
***
Sign Up for Healing Journey Messages
Receive a daily message to your email address.