As I suffer, am I trying to “be God?”

My heart is in agony, and I have to share. Thousands have written me, having been taught that if we “do” things a certain way, God “has to” remove suffering and give us “favor,” as a reward for our works.

Beloved, do you see the pride and pain this brings? It’s making ourselves into gods above Him.

Trying to “be God.”

As those who love the Lord Jesus Christ, who have repented and trusted in Him alone for salvation, why would we ever try to manipulate Him?

What is His saving and healing way for us instead?

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:5-8 ESV).

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 5:3 ESV).

Here are some other ways I’ve seen the wounded shame and turmoil in the hearts of my suffering sisters in Christ who write me, barely hanging on…with “church” folks making it even worse by this sin, producing so much anxiety and exhausted despair.

Oh dear ones, let’s come to God Omniscient, God All Knowing, for His cleansing and healing.

We are not omniscient!

We humans can think we’re omniscient, seeing and knowing the depths of another’s heart and motivations. We judge, quietly scorn, swelled in our own pride and legalistic good works and self-righteousness. Condemning ourselves and others.

Whoever believes in him is not condemned (Jn. 3:18 ESV).

We judge as if we’re omniscient, thinking we know “why” we (or anyone else) are suffering, like Job’s friends who were so sure it was his sin causing his calamities. Or we try to “pray suffering away” because we think God has somehow made a mistake, that it can’t possibly be part of His perfect plan for His beloved in Christ. Or we wish others were omniscient…and could just read our minds as we suffer!

He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our LORD, and abundant in power; HIS understanding is beyond measure (Ps. 147:4-5 ESV, emphasis added).

We quickly condemn ourselves (and others), even when we know God is always doing His patient and transforming work of justifying, sanctifying, and glorifying grace in those who belong to Jesus Christ.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Eph. 2:8-9 ESV).

God is omnipresent; we don’t need to be!

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? (Ps. 139:7 ESV).

We think it’s “on us” or others to “fix” other believers…so they’ll behave in a particular way to get something wanted, instead of praying to the only One who knows their deepest need, as those indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

We exhaustively “do,” expecting ourselves (and others) to earn “righteousness points” from God instead of humbly asking for His specific wisdom as those who’ve already been declared righteous in Christ. Sometimes, He may want His beloved to simply rest in His omnipresence, even more intimately to know His love within this world’s suffering experiences. 

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (Jn.14:23 ESV).

Praise to our omnipotent God!

We declare to God and ourselves how He should act and think…so that He’ll move and do what we want. We tell Him we know what’s best, and rather than humbly asking Him for what He knows is best, we frenzy up “power” prayers and experiences specifically to manipulate Him to act according to our desires. 

Oh beloved, what does Jesus say?

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Rev. 22:13 ESV).

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? (Numb. 23:19 ESV).

On the flip side, we easily forget our precious Lord’s complete and total power to do absolutely anything His unchanging goodness and perfect love wills for us! So, we don’t ask! We’re making Him into a much smaller god than He is!

Ah, LORD God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you (Jer. 32:17 ESV)!

I know that you can do all things, 

and 

that no purpose of yours can be thwarted (Job 42:2 ESV).

A playlist to release it all to our God, who is Lord

Let’s come to the cross of Christ once again and lay the burdens down. This week’s playlist is a little different than usual, for it’s one of humility. We confess that Jesus is Lord…and we are not. We humbly cry to Him for help as we suffer, especially as those who may have been hurt by this sin in others. We praise Him for His glorious gift of salvation, taking ALL our sin’s deserved punishment upon Himself and giving us His perfectly sinless righteousness instead. No more condemnation!

I’m praying it’s a healing, cleansing, freeing, releasing of every burden onto His omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient shoulders as we suffer and watch others suffer right now. 

If you’d like to sing-pray along with this suffering sister in Christ, let’s come to Jesus together, with this or any of the resources below.

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Devotional Bible study prayer journals as we suffer, available on Amazon. Click for details.

Singing the Gospel to Job: Finding Hope in Suffering

Praying God’s Promises Into Suffering

Near to God: A Devotional Bible Study of God’s Character in Our Suffering