Who Needs God?

Who needs God in this day and age? The average person can look around at the world and clearly see things that have come together as they are by chance. They can look at their lives and see the results of their own hard work.  We need snow in Dulce and this winter we are getting plenty of it. But if God is bringing the snow, can't he put most of it in the wild places, and only a little bit in town or along the roads, so we can travel safely and not waste so much time shoveling? And what does God have to do with my car payment? It is my hard work that provides for the things that make up my life, isn’t it?

The idea that God is irrelevant to many people is not one that is unique to our day.  In the Bible Job comments about the prosperity of the wicked. Job, someone who loves God deeply, has suffered greatly. Meanwhile he notes that very many things seem to go well for people who have no time for God. They live long lives. Their children are numerous and successful. They sing and enjoy prosperity all their days. Their lives end in peace. If God is mentioned to them, their basic response is: "Depart! We've got no time for you!"

Looking at their lives from a purely practical point of view, in Job 21:15 they say:

"What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?

  And what profit do we get if we pray to him?"

The problem, in the time of Job and today as well, is looking at God as a being whose sole reason for existence is to meet our needs. God exists so that I can get the things I want. If God isn't giving me what I need right now, then what's the point? It is a "me-centered" view of God, and it is fatally flawed.

"What is the Almighty" is the question that we can only really answer by looking into the Bible. Nature can give us hints about God, and so can the thinking of our own minds, when we sincerely set them to it. But it is the Bible, alone, that shows us God as he truly is.

The Bible shows us God's majesty. His power. His knowledge. His wisdom. His presence in all parts of the universe. His grace. His mercy. His love. His kindness. His providence. His love. His justice. His righteousness. His holiness. The Bible shows all of these things of God, and more, and it shows that everything about God is both perfect and unchanging.

"What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?"  After giving that question consideration from the Bible's point-of-view, the only possible answer is: "God is everything. There is no reason we shouldn't serve him." And instead of looking at prayer as a way to profit from God we should then see it as a great privilege that God, in all that he is, invites us to spend time with him.

Who needs God in this day and age? We do. And we are blessed that in the Bible God both shows us who he truly is, and invites us to draw near to him. Amen.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.