As a Christian mom and gramma, I constantly pray for my kids and grandkids. I pray for their health and safety and most important of all, I pray for their salvation and their continuing relationships with Jesus. It’s difficult for me when I read about well-known Christians and influencers of my children’s generation walking away from God, claiming that He is not good, not fair, and not just. It seems to me, though, many of those who say such things do not address God’s righteousness.

Many people look at the tragedies happening in the world—a pandemic, natural disasters, and the many other personal situations that cause a person to say, “how could a good God allow this?”—and they either reject God completely or say that there is a god, and he is not good. The basis for their view of God is what they see going on in the world—instead of starting with the understanding that God is good, God is love, and mankind has messed things up.

“You [God] are good and do good; teach me your statutes.” (Psalm 119:68)

We can’t understand the goodness of God until we know His statutes, His instructions, and His ways—and how we do that is to study His Word.

I was talking with some friends recently about our one-sided human perspective. It is easy to focus on what we believe is good, on what is right, or what we think is just; yet we cannot comprehend the fullness of God, His goodness, righteousness, justice, and the truth complete in Him. It is so easy to become our own gods, exalting our own understanding and opinions above God’s eternal, complete perspective!

“Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.” (Proverbs 28:26)

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!” (Psalm 111:10)

I used to be afraid of being deceived—fear is often generated through law-based religious systems. Yet the fear inside of me couldn’t be reconciled with these words that Paul wrote to Timothy: “…for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 2:7)

I have been deceived by internet charlatans (and praying for grace that won’t happen ever again—to me or to my kids and their families!); and I have been swept up into the deception of sin as James so aptly describes: “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin…” (James 1:14, 15).

We have an enemy who understands our humanity, who sees what we are looking at and desiring, and he whispers in our ears, “Did God really say you can’t have this, or do that?” And he tries to convince us that our lives would be so much better or worthwhile without the parameters within which God has designed for us to live. So, instead of looking to our heavenly Father who loves us beyond comprehension, we begin to measure our lives and our happiness by what we desire and our opinions of what is valuable—instead of nurturing our relationship with God, the things of this world and our perceptions of right and wrong become tainted by the evil one. We open our ourselves up to deception by the direction we are looking—just like Eve.

The fact is, we have a gracious God who “…is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) And “the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!” (Psalm 84:11-12)

This is where we must start, by looking at Jesus— “…let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

We cannot look at the diseases, tragedies, and disasters happening throughout the world and make up our minds about God before we see all that is happening from His perspective—the only way to do that is to be born again, filled with the Holy Spirit, and a student of His Word. Or to say it more simply, to “…love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind…” (Luke 10:27)

I’ve been thinking about all that is going on in the world quite a bit lately and these verses in 2 Thessalonians (2:9-12) have been going through my mind: “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Delusion and deception are rampant right now, and the prophet Isaiah describes it well: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:20-21)

I’ve witnessed the activity of satan, the deceptions, the delusions—I don’t know if the big one, the God-sent one is at work in the world now, though I believe the “lawless one” won’t show up until after the church is “caught up” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). I write that, not so much to present a point of contention, but to say we need to know the truth and we need to love it. A passive religious approach to Christianity will not suffice in days to come!

So, this is my prayer for my family, and myself, that we would “…straighten up and raise [our] heads, because [our] redemption is drawing near!” (Luke 21:28)