A proper understanding of God comes by studying His Word, the Bible, in a proper way. Even if someone can't read the Bible or they struggle understanding it, they should seek out sermons by people who understand the right doctrine of the Bible and follow it. We are living in a time of many false doctrines, and the only way to discern what is right from wrong is to closely study the Bible ourselves. Acts 17:10-12 reads, "As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men." These verses teach us how the Bereans studied the Scriptures earnestly and eagerly to verify what Paul told them. After they did, they realized what he said was true and believed his words. We should not think about if a pastor or preacher is famous, popular, or eloquent and well-traveled. We should compare what they say and weight it against the Bible. If they are following the Bible exactly, than their doctrine is right and we can accept it. If they are adding to, subtracting from, or changing what God said, then we should reject their teaching.  

 

Recently I had a conversation with a dear sister who is from Australia. She sent me a friend request and I accepted it. I saw some of her posts which were against God. I generally greet anyone who is on my friend list and introduce myself. I ask how I can pray for them. Though she was my friend on Facebook, I hadn't yet talked to her personally until I began seeing some of her posts. I messaged her to ask her if she believed in God or Jesus. She replied yes and no. I was shocked and asked her how she believed both. I told her that her answer should be yes or no, not both. She went on explaining about how she used to go to church regularly and suddenly her sister died. She began misunderstanding God. She questioned, "If God is really a loving and righteous God, why did He take my sister away from me?" We are involved in church and participating in everything. Why would God do this to us? Then I took time to explain to her through verses from the Bible about how only God knows what is best for us. She stopped chatting with me, but I kept sending her messages about God and how we can better understand Him even when we are not understanding Him due to our situation. She ended up blocking me. I was really sad. It breaks my heart when people do not have a proper understanding of God. 

 

My beloved brothers and sisters, there are no promises in the Bible of God giving us a trouble-free life. He actually promises the opposite. However, He promises that when we go through those troubles He wants to be with us. He wants to hold our hand and lead us in the valleys and dark places of our lives when we trust Him. If you are facing troubles in your life, don't think that God is not there or that He doesn't care about you. He loves you more than you can imagine or understand. Remember He sent His Son Jesus to die a horrendously painful death on a cross to pay for our sins and give us an abundant life. Search His Word, the Bible, to understand His beautiful and awesome character. Ask Him to help give you understanding of who He is. We may not understand a situation, but we can understand Him and His love. Lean on your brothers and sisters that He has given you to help you see Him clearly. The Bible gives us so many stories of people who are facing problems, but they chose to lean on depend upon the Lord. Other people have also faced difficulties and are there to help you. Remember that everything is in God's control and He is working for the good of those who love Him. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose." Take heart and lean into God during the bad and good times. Study His Word eagerly and earnestly to know Him more and more and have a proper understanding of the character of God.