Under God’s Loving Umbrella

Have you experienced a major problem in your life?

If you ask me, yes I have, in fact, I have already suffered twice. And these two circumstances, which both made my head spin, heart ache, and every part of my body crumble, were somewhat identical in cause, but what’s interesting is that both happened during the time when I was far from my Creator.

I call them my dark days and think that they were God’s sweet spanking for letting myself go astray from His loving arms. I had that theory in mind all along, until I sat alone in church, listening intently, and the pastor confirmed everything. I could relate to all that was taught, making it an interesting and unforgettable Sunday service.

Photo grabbed from Flickr

Complete with an umbrella and a man as props, the pastor demonstrated how we expose ourselves to bad things when we get out of the umbrella of God.

That day’s teaching is best illustrated through the Book of Jonah. What happens when we try to run away from His presence are:

a. We can get into a confusing and frightening situation – When we get to this point, maybe it’s God’s way of warning us that we’re slowly creeping our way away from Him and He is reminding us that we can never be okay without Him and that we should go back and accept His offer of company.

b. We can get into a zero-option situation – It is a dead end because there’s no solution if we stay away from God’s presence. Everything will be pitch black and we have nowhere to go to.

c. We can get out of our frightening and zero-option situations when we repent of our stubbornness and obey what God wants us to do. 

 

God gave us freewill, so we always have the choice whether to stay or not.  But He promises that if we let ourselves be surrounded by His presence, we will be abundantly blessed. The sun may still set every once in a while, but He’ll still make it shine for us.

The pastor gave a little guide to help us understand the importance of God’s presence and decision-making and how they go hand in hand:

a. Choices in life are options having to do with either remaining or running away from the presence of God – The Devil may be there and may drag us with him, but it is still up to us if we’ll soften up and let him lure us to his trap. We can also choose to obey and set ourselves free from zero-option situation or be stubborn and be perpetually surrounded by it. It is a matter of choice, and there’s no finger pointing since our lives depend on ourselves!

b. Corrective circumstances are realities we go through when we make mistakes – Wrong choices always have equivalent corrective circumstances. They don’t just happen for no reason at all. Painful episodes in our lives take place so that we can realize where we have failed and thus be aware of how to avoid zero-option situation from repeating itself.

c. Choices are often contaminated by our lack of forgiveness or lack of faith – Acceptance is the key to good choices. It gives us better perspective of things since our minds are not clouded with grudges. So forgive, and never lose your faith in God.

 

So the next time you think you’re soaked with unrelenting troubles, check your spiritual life and your faith if it’s still the same as before. It’s always better and safer to be under God’s loving umbrella. ❤