- “If the Lord had not been on our side—let Israel say—if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us, they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us; the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away.” Do you think that in the times when you escaped serious pain and loss that it was because God had been on your side? Is this just “spiritualising” your experiences and attributing to God what is just “good luck or good effort” for any human being?
I think it is perfectly OK to have a worldview that God is involved in my life at all times and, good or bad, to know that he is with me. It just means I am practising trust rather than giving in to fear. Trusting him doesn’t mean I have to do nothing or avoid the solutions the world provides, like medicine, lawyers, etc.
- “Praise be to the Lord, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Is this your world view, that God is actively involved in your life?
Yes.
- How does this square against times when bad things happen? Would that mean God was absent during those times? Or would you still praise and honour him even during such times (while looking to him for mercy—Psalm 123)?
No. His presence in my life is not a sanitizer, preventing me from experiencing the reality of the world so that I never encounter bad things. Nothing stops him from helping out at times but his goal is not to shield me from life but to shape me positively as I go through life.
- Do you think this view that God is actively by your side a true view that you can live by? How will it affect you and the way you live?
Yes. Trusting him means that I can choose to live an upright life and be a generous neighbour in deed and in attitude. It will not be all roses but I trust he will help me deal with bad outcomes and not be bitter or indifferent.