bible study
title: God: person or force?
key passage: psalm 142; 1 peter 5:6-7
humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 peter 5:6-7, esv)
even if you've never seen star wars, you've probably heard someone say, "may the force be with you." the "force"--an all pervading life force, an energy that permeates every living being--was director george lucas' idea of God.
but this idea of a "force" didn't originate with lucas. it's one of many popular ideas that have existed for centuries about the nature of a higher power. but people don't want a cold impersonal energy running the universe any more than they want to hear an answering machine when they call their friends for comfort.
the bible tells us who God really is. God is not an energy. He is not a deity of stone or wood. He's not a philosophical idea. God is a person. He has emotions. He can feel joy, and sympathize with your hurts. and it's because God is a real, personal God that we can relate to him in the first place.
peter wrote his letters to people who were going through many kinds of trouble including being persecuted for their faith. but peter reminds them that they can have hope. he reminds them of Jesus' death and resurrection and that they're now under God's power and protection.
he concludes his letter with some of the best advice found anywhere in the bible. advice for you when life is falling apart and you need someone to pick you up.
"humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you" (1 peter 5:6-7, esv). with any other kind of god, you'd be left to fend for yourself. and we've even gotten used to the false idea that God wants us to work out our own problems. but that's not what the bible says. God tells us he wants to deal with our difficulties--we simply need to surrender them to him.
that's only one of the ways our lives are made better by the fact that God is a real, personal god. in the next section we'll look psalm 142 and see how david drew close to a real, personal god.
consider it
read through psalm 142 and consider the following questions:
in what specific ways does david address God as a real person?
what does david expect from God?
look at the last verse, what is david's motivation for making this request?
apply it
a common misconception of God is summed up in the phrase, "God helps those who helps themselves." a lot of people think this is the message of the bible, yet those words never once appear there. in fact, the opposite is true. God is there and he wants to help.
maybe there's something you're facing today that's too big for you. maybe you feel all alone in facing it. take a moment to cry out to god like david did in psalm 142, then write about it in your journal. come back to it after a few weeks and record how God helped you through the situation.
express it
prayer would have no meaning if God wasn't there to listen, so begin by thanking him that he does listen. thank him that he's there and willing to help. and pray that he will help you learn how to trust him in all areas of your life.