There are a lot of things about God that people seem to be unsure about. However, God is much easier to know and understand than you may think. He knows that we are only human, so He makes it easy for us to know Him. If you try to overanalyze God and place Him in boxes that He has no business being in, you ‘miss’ Him. Here is a list of the 25 most common misconceptions that I hear people say or assume about God.
The 25 Most Common Misconceptions About God
1. God is mad at you. God forgave you the moment Jesus died on the Cross at Cavalry. All sins, past, present, and future is covered. And the veil of the temple rent when Jesus died, which meant that you now have access to the throne and the presence of God (See Matthew 27:51).
2. God doesn’t love you. You are the apple of God’s eye (See Psalm 17:8 and Zechariah 2:8). Likewise, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son… (See John 3:16). God gave you His best gift (Jesus), which indicates how much He loves you. Lastly, God also gave the prodigal son His best gifts when he returned to his Father’s house after years of riotous living (See Luke 15:22).
3. God is too holy for you to have a relationship with Him. Truth be told, you don’t have the slightest amount of holiness within you to even put you in the presence of God. In fact, angels, as holy as they are, are in Heaven worshipping God all the time. The only way that you are able to get to God is through Jesus, and His perfect blood. Through Jesus, God’s holiness is able to be connected with your unholiness. Jesus bridges the gap between you and God, so now you find God in your midst even when you are unholy: He eats with sinners(See Mark 2:16-17).
4. God doesn’t want you. He really does, and He invites you to turn unto Him and He will do the same to you (See Zechariah 1:3).
5. God doesn’t want to help you. Dead wrong! God is a rewarder to those that diligently seek Him (See Hebrews 11:6). Also, God has specific thoughts for you and your life (See Jeremiah 29:11). If you’re still having doubts about whether God wants to help you in life, God says, ‘Call unto me and I will answer…’ (See Jeremiah 33:3).
6. God wants to zap you with lightning for being bad. Honestly, how many times in your life have you beenzapped by lightning? I mean, it happens to some people, but it’s not very common. Do I really have to elaborate here? If so, God has 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000… ways to take you out if He so chooses. He is not sitting in Heaven waiting for the precise moment to ZAP you with a lightning rod when you do wrong. ZAP!
7. God doesn’t want you to have fun. This is one of the biggest misconceptions about God. God invented fun, AND every good thing that you enjoy. How couldn’t He like fun, nor want you to have fun in life? In fact, Jesus attended the Wedding of Cana as well as Passovers and other feasts. God wants you to have fun, but He wants it to be in righteousness so that He may bless you and preserve your life. If you have kids, you know that when they were young or if they are young, that you don’t let them get near hot ovens. They may have been running around the kitchen having fun, but you, as a parent, saw the dangers associated with that hot oven. So, you protected them and guarded them from touching the oven, maybe even telling them sternly to get out of the kitchen. Well, God as your Father does the same thing. However, God is all seeing and all-knowing, unlike you as a parent to your child. God wants to keep you from the dangers of life while you enjoy yourself; so He wants you to walk uprightly.
8. God is the universe. This is the ultimate understatement concerning God. Do you want to suppress your blessing and confine God to a box that reduces His power in your life down to the size of the universe? Well, keep referring to God as the universe and you will most certainly achieve your goal. This point won’t be popular amongst some readers, but there’s one thing you should know about me: I don’t do this for Facebook likes and Twitter follows. I do it for God, and I tell you the truth because I care. So, sue me if you’re offended. I’m sorry, but I have to be honest and tell you that God is NOT the universe. He is its Creator and He’s much greater than the universe. Don’t limit your blessings to the size of the universe. Instead, believe in a greater God to give yougreater blessings than that which the universe can give. God makes the universe look like the nothingness that it is when compared to Him.
9. God doesn’t understand you. God made you (See Jeremiah 1:5). He understands the work of His hands because He designed the blueprint and created the building (your body) for Him to dwell in (See Job 32:8).
10. God is too hard to get close to. God is always available for you whenever you call on Him. Better yet, even when you’re asleep God is up and there for you (See Hebrews 11:6 and Jeremiah 33:3).
11. God is untouchable and too far out there for Him to be real in your life. God is not untouchable. In fact, the widow woman pressed through the crowd, touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, and was made whole. Besides, as mentioned earlier, the veil of the temple was rent when Jesus died on the cross. That gave you access to God’s throne, and the ability to go before Him with your prayers and supplications (See Matthew 27:51).
12. God doesn’t get involved in every aspect of your life. He does. He just wants you to live holy unto Him, and He will be there in all areas that you invite Him to. If I told you that God can cook would you believe me? Well you should, because He can run a business (His Kingdom) and fish as well (See Luke 5:4). God created life and He is the master of every aspect of life. Ask for His guidance in anything that’s in His will, and He will make you better at it.
13. God is not cool. So, walking on water isn’t cool, huh (See Matthew 14:25)? Or sleeping in the midst of a storm and rebuking the wind is not cool, huh (See Mark 4:35-40)? I guess it’s also not cool to have angels worship you (See Revelation 7:11). You may not be as cool as you think; and if you are, you didn’t get it from yourself. God has been cool, calm, and collected…WAYYYYY before you knew the meaning of charisma!
14. God doesn’t know what you’re thinking. He’s God; he knows everything you’re thinking or feeling (See Psalm 94:11). So you might as well be honest with Him AND YOURSELF!
15. God doesn’t know what you did, are doing, or planning to do. You’re dead wrong here. Adam tried to hide from God in the Garden of Eden after he bit the apple, but God came down and found Adam naked and hiding-ahem (See Genesis 3:8). God knows where you are and what you’re doing.
16. God doesn’t want to bless you. God wants you to inherit His Kingdom on earth AND in Heaven (See Luke 12:32). You don’t have to wait until you get to Heaven to enjoy the fruits and the bounty of the Kingdom. Enjoy your time on earth and the many blessings that God bestows upon you here before you get there. Then, enjoy them again when you get to Heaven!
17. God doesn’t want to prosper you. God wants you to prosper in spirit, in your finances, health, and otherwise (See 3John 1:2).
18. God doesn’t want you to be happy and free to enjoy life. God does want you to be happy and enjoy life, but He wants it done in righteousness and holiness (See John 10:10). That means you will not only obtain happiness and abundance, but you will enjoy it and retain it for generations to come. God blesses righteousness for generations upon generations. That’s why King David was given an everlasting Kingdom (through the birth of Jesus). David was righteous, despite the mistakes he made.
19. God is just about done with you . Wrong. His mercy endures forever (See Psalm 136:1). Additionally, a righteous man falls seven times, but gets back up again (See Proverbs 24:16). In fact, there are countless men in the Bible who did wrong, yet had the grace and favor of God upon them: Abraham (lied about his wife Sarah actually being his wife); David (slept with Bathsheba and had her husband killed in battle); Moses (killed an Egyptian); Paul (persecuted the Jews). God will give you another chance. Unfortunately for you, God has all the time in the world. You DON’T! So ask yourself this: How long do you want to continue going around that same mountain again and again and again before you reach your destination and position in life? Again, God has all the time in the world!
20. God doesn’t allow you to mess up and make mistakes. The blood of Jesus and God’s grace is sufficient for your sins (See Romans 5:20). However, He wants you to do better because He wants to promote you. God wants you to repent and get it right so He can move you up and forward in life. Nonetheless, you don’t have enough sin within you to separate you from the love of God (See Romans 8:39). His mercy endures forever (See Psalm 136:1).
21. God doesn’t like people who aren’t perfect and super religious. Wrong; that’s why Jesus died. And as long as you’re alive, you will NEVER be perfect. Paul wasn’t perfect either (See Romans 7:15-25). Nonetheless, you have to press towards the mark of doing and being better each day (See Philippians 3:13). The only one who will ever be perfect is God. Concerning religion, God seeks obedience and your love. Too much religion can make the law of none effect. Be spiritual, but not so religious that you expect God’s presence in the form of fires, and wind, and earthquakes, yet you miss His still, small voice (See 1Kings 19:11-12).
22. God is too serious to let you serve Him and enjoy your life. In the Bible, Israel held feasts and celebrations throughout the year to honor God. And if you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter, and other holidays or events, you probably hold a few feasts of your own in a year. God is about much more than feasts though. He wants you to experience joy in every area of your life, according to His will. In plain terms, God wants you to enjoy everyday life (Thanks Joyce). The joy of the Lord is your strength (See Nehemiah 8:10).
23. God doesn’t control your money and He can’t do anything about your money problems. God creates trees (your money source). He also owns everything in the world (See Psalm 50:10-12). Moreover, whatever you think you own in life is not yours at all. It’s God’s! He loaned it to you, and He expects to be paid back withinterest when He returns (See Matthew 25:14-30). Enough said.
24. God is not necessary in your life for you to live. Oh yeah? Well, first off…let’s see how long you can hold your breath…starting…NOW! Okay stop. The air that you breathe is not yours at all; it’s God’s: God breathed His breath into your lungs (See Genesis 2:7). Also, what did you eat and drink today? That food and water that you so unknowingly placed into your mouth today came to you, not from the store, not from your government, not from the local reservoir or your well, but from the rain water God sends down from heaven . That water sustains life and enables life to flourish. Having doubts about that? Well, go to a country where there is severe drought and lack of rain and see how long you survive (without clean water, without the agriculture that depends on water, and without the animals that depend on the agriculture and/or the water to drink). You would die of thirst, perhaps before you died of starvation. God is necessary in your life for your very survival (See Matthew 6:25-34).
25. God requires too much time from you and you’re too busy to give Him time each day. God made time. Do you, for one second, think that God would not provide enough time in the day for you to serve Him? If any other time in the day is missing, or not allocated for, God’s time is not. He most certainly made time in the day for you to put in with Him! Besides, even if you may be overloaded with work or other commitments, God can literally stop time to favor you if He wants (See Joshua 10:13). Your time spent with God is not lost, but gained. That’s because He propels you forward in quantum leaps above and beyond where you would’ve been without putting in time with Him. He is your competitive advantage in life. In short, He takes you further and faster ahead much easier than you could have gotten without Him. Time with God is time gained and progress made! Don’t believe me? Spend one hour in earnest prayer or praise this week about your challenges and situations in life and see how quickly God turns it around!
Conclusion
God is much easier to know and understand than meets the eye. The last thing that He wants to do is have you confused about who He is. Accordingly, He describes Himself and His will very clearly throughout the Bible. This list of the 25 most common misconceptions about God was provided in order to shed some light on the truths about God. Hopefully, you were not offended by any of the items listed. If so, I suggest that you take that up with God. I only write what He inspires me to write. God bless you.