Not Just Any Old God Will Do

By Chet White

The course of our lives is largely determined by our "everyday" decisions which are often informed by our perception of ourselves, of others, and of God. The totality of these perceptions ultimately determines our perspective, the lens through which we view ourselves as well as the world around us. Since our perception is tantamount to our reali

• Language: English
• Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
• Release date: Sep 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9781649900623

Chet White

Chet White is a first-time author who lives in Jonesboro, Georgia. He has been involved in Christian teaching ministries for more than 20 years. In teaching as well as writing regarding spiritual matters such as spiritual warfare, he uses anthropomorphism to facilitate his audience's understanding of biblical events as well as current events in the United States. He is passionate about assisting people who struggle with issues emanating from their own erroneous perceptions of themselves, of others, and/or of God. As someone who has benefited immensely from God's intervention in spite of his less than perfect faith, he has a special empathy for those who struggle in this area.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

T

his book is not for those who do not believe in God and his exclusive sovereignty. It is not an attempt to prove the existence of God. Neither is it an effort to define how God works in the abstract. It is intended to help believers who sometimes struggle with the question of whether God is still active in the lives of people. Does God really hear and respond to prayer? Does he care about a lowly person like me? Can I count on him to deliver me in my most difficult moments? This book is also intended to provide an alternative view of God to the one portrayed by the gospel of prosperity that is so prevalent in today's society. I will not attempt to convince you that you can have what you say, and neither will I try to sell you on the notion that you will always be victorious as defined by your personal definition of victory. However, I will endeavor to open your mind to the possibility that in God, victory comes in different forms in accordance with his wisdom.

By exploring specific aspects of certain biblical accounts involving revered Old Testament heroes, I will attempt to lead you to the conclusion that we have much more in common with these biblical heroes than we may have thought. By examining the conduct of some Bible characters, I will demonstrate that in essence, many of the biblical personalities we admire and whom God used to accomplish great exploits suffered from some of the same flaws and failures of faith we occasionally experience. Therefore, when our faith temporarily falters, we should not despair, as God will meet us where we are just as he did for our champions of the faith.

I will also take an anecdotal look at the role of the prince of darkness in biblical days as well as in our society. In movies, television, and books, he is often portrayed as a frighteningly ugly creature whose very appearance ignites horror in anyone who dares to view his face. In this writing, I will focus on the idea that, in reality, we should not be afraid of his appearance but we should be vigilant regarding his deleterious influence through which he wreaks havoc on our world. We should know that he uses people to do his bidding. We should also understand that anyone can be susceptible to his manipulation, and our failure to recognize this fact often makes us more vulnerable. I think most Christians acknowledge that the Christian story is one in which good is pitted against evil, and they admit to the reality of spiritual warfare between God and his adversary, Satan. But what does spiritual warfare look like? What is the primary weapon employed by our adversary in advancing the war against us? What defense can be mounted against this weapon? In subsequent chapters of this book, I will provide my insight regarding these questions.

I will attempt to use a few select Bible stories to illustrate that spiritual warfare had physical-world ramifications in biblical times, and I will discuss how spiritual warfare is at the core of current events in our country today. Finally, through anthropomorphism, I will share how the enemy has, over a period of many years, machinated a degradation in the United States' standing in the world and how he continues his efforts to undermine and exploit the democratic process in our country. In the discourse regarding the enemy's efforts to subvert our democracy, I will present my perspective on white evangelicals' attraction to President Trump, including the perception of Trump's role as it relates to a prophecy concerning his accession to the presidency.

The first chapter of this book presents my view of God's benevolence and Satan's antagonism and establishes the context and the backdrop for the subsequent chapters of the book. In this chapter, I will adduce my opinion of the enemy's power to manipulate man by influencing his perception of himself, his fellow man, and God. This chapter also speaks to God's willingness to be a more-than-competent countervailing force against the enemy and on behalf of those who love and serve him. The second chapter, titled Giants: They Still Do Fall, takes a look at how God enabled a young man, through ostensibly highly improbable natural means, to defeat a physical giant who had been tormenting the army of Israel. As evidence that God has not changed, this chapter also chronicles a personal story in which God enabled my family and me to defeat a metaphorical giant through ostensibly highly improbable natural means. The next chapter, titled The State of the Union, examines events that have occurred during the current presidential administration and the previous administration that have contributed to the present hostilities between the political Left and Right in our country. The chapter titled The World Is Upside Down uses a biblical story to provide a detailed account of how the enemy may have exploited ancient Israel's perception of its circumstances and God to transform its government from a theocracy to a monarchy. It also examines how the enemy is attacking our country by influencing how we see ourselves, other people, and God. In the chapters under the section titled Introspection, I provide my thoughts on several topics that can significantly impact our quality of life and affect our relationships with others and God. With candor, I share insights into some of my personal struggles regarding my perception of others and God and my efforts to overcome them. In writing this section, my objective is to offer ways to countervail the enemy's attempts to manipulate our perception, which he does to damage our relationships.

My sincere hope is that this book will help you to consider seeing God from the perspective of a personal relationship as opposed to that of a Christian denominational position. I will attempt to shine a light upon the dangers of political hyperpartisanship, from which blind loyalty emanates. By drawing on my personal experiences with God, I will provide support for the view that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever, just as scripture asserts.

Throughout this book, I refer to specific interventions by God in the lives of biblical characters as well as my own life that reflect various parts of his character, his might, and his love. Please note that while I can see tendencies in the ways God has dealt with me over the years, I realize he is not limited by the ways in which he chose to deal with me on various occasions. I readily acknowledge that he may choose to interrelate with others in myriad ways. That is the absolutely wonderful thing about him. As one who knows us better than we know ourselves, he is equipped to relate to each of us in the most effective way. By sharing my experiences with you, I simply hope that no matter what you are confronted with in this life, you will know that God is always there with you. While he might not choose to act miraculously on your behalf in a given situation, you can rest assured that it is not because he cannot do it. While God sometimes intervenes in undeniable and miraculous ways in response to our prayers, it is important for us to understand the necessity to involve him in all our decision-making, even those decisions that include areas of our lives in which we feel very competent to manage.

The Bible provides some insight into how God may choose to relate to man. In Acts 2:17, he says, And it shall come to pass in the last days, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. This scripture reminds me of two related facts. First, I suppose I am an old man, because on several occasions God chose to communicate with me through my dreams. Secondly, despite my sustained reluctance, God employed dreams to communicate his desire for me to write this book.

Let me explain. After God came to my rescue in a miraculous way, for several years I occasionally experienced a feeling that perhaps I should write about the great things he had done in my life. Some might believe that the feeling I experienced was merely a recurring thought. But in retrospect, I see it was the still small voice that resides in each of us to lead and direct our path. Frankly, while my aim is to always recognize and obey this voice, I occasionally fall short and discard it. In this case, for many years other voices drowned the urgings of the still, small voice within me. I recall questioning whether the inner voice I heard was merely a latent desire to accomplish something for self-acclaim. This was a reasonable concern given my knowledge (though limited) of myself. The other major objection against my authoring a book was the fact that I was conspicuously ill-equipped to handle such a monumentally difficult task. I had absolutely no experience as an author, and there were no redeeming factors for my lack of experience. I was not an accomplished theologian. I was not even a pastor. I was just an everyday Joe who at times struggled to do the right thing. I wondered, Who would be interested in reading anything I write? Why should I waste my time? In my thoughts regarding this matter, I vacillated for several years; however, I never definitively decided against writing this book. I merely continued to defer the decision.

In 2019, I began having dreams with a repetitive and consistent theme. In each dream, I found myself away from home without knowing how to return. I remember the desperation I experienced each time I could not find my way back to my family. After each dream, I was deeply disturbed when I awakened, as I knew within my spirit these dreams were not good. I was so mortified by them that I never shared them with anyone, not even my wife, who was also my best friend. The repetitive nature of the dreams was an indication to me that God had an issue with me. While I knew I was not perfect, I thought my relationship with him was on solid footing. In my view, I had evolved into a good husband, father, and grandfather. I had taught an adult Sunday school class for more than twenty years. I considered myself an honest person with a good heart. So what had I done to get on God's bad side?

After fretting over these dreams for a few days, I was desperate for answers, and I decided to have a candid conversation with God about this matter. In prayer, I essentially asked him to help me see where I was falling short of the mark. Shortly thereafter, I had another dream. This one was different than my earlier dreams. In this dream, I was waiting to return home with my mother. My mother had died in 1982, but in my dream I was not conscious of this fact. While waiting for her to return, I was advised that a medical procedure performed on my hand would be necessary before I could accompany her back home. This caused great turmoil within me, as I believed that the procedure would be extremely painful. Therefore, I initially decided to simply forego returning with my mom to avoid the pain of the operation. But after further consideration, I decided to submit myself to the procedure despite the anticipated pain. In the end, I underwent the surgery on my hand only to learn that my fears had been completely unfounded. The prospective surgery that had caused an almost paralyzing trepidation within me, in fact, resulted in only low-level pain. When I awoke, it was quite clear to me that the dream about my beloved mother was God's way of informing me that this book was his idea. Furthermore, I also understood that writing it was not a request but a command. My dream also confirmed that I should not have been overwhelmed by the facts as I knew them: that I lacked writing experience, was not a theologian, was not even a serious Bible scholar, and so forth. As I reflected on the victories God had afforded me, which I will address in later chapters of this book, I realized God never calls us without equipping us. With this in mind, I resolved to write this book.

As I moved forward, I could not help but wonder why God would choose someone like me to explore the issues addressed in this book. For example, consider the chapter titled, The World Is Upside Down. Since that chapter compares the behavior of the children of Israel in the Old Testament with the bizarre conduct of large groups of people in our country today, human logic would suggest that a social scientist might have been better equipped to handle this task than I. I wish I could succinctly delineate the reasons God would have someone like me examine the complex human behavior that has contributed to the ongoing cultural war in this country, but the fact is, I am simply clueless with respect to God's rationale. However, it is not lost on me that, according to the twenty-second chapter of Numbers, God used a donkey to see, recognize, and react to an angel when a man named Balaam did not. So if God can use a donkey to accomplish his will, it stands to reason that he can use anyone or anything he chooses. This view is not intended to be self-deprecating; I am merely reiterating my point that God's actions are often beyond human comprehension. He does not always follow the script that aligns with human logic.

It has also occurred to me that God may have only a very limited purpose for this book. His purpose may be nothing more than my obedience. Or perhaps this was for my personal benefit, as writing this book has certainly enhanced my awareness in my relationships, and that fact alone has made my efforts worthwhile. If that is the case, I am comfortable with it, as I have come to realize that he knows what is best for me more than I do. Notwithstanding the above acknowledgment, it would give me great pleasure if it were his plan to have my efforts benefit others. We can deduce from the third chapter of 1 Corinthians that some people plant and some water, but God gives the increase. My sincere hope is that this book will contribute to the planting and watering for all who choose to read it.

THE SPIRIT WORLD

GOD THE BENEVOLENT

I

n the first chapter of the Book of Genesis, scripture establishes that man was created in the image of God. Most Christians agree that, on some level, this means man possesses some of the attributes of God. Many might also agree that the ability to reason and understand is one of those attributes. In fact, I think it is this attribute that fuels man's desire to comprehend the mysteries of God.

An abundance of literature has been written about the various aspects of God. Yet it is unlikely that anyone has done more than scratch the surface concerning an explanation of who he really is. While we were indeed created with some of his attributes, in reality he is beyond our independent comprehension. We only understand what he allows us to understand in accordance with his timing. This is the reason for the seemingly contradictory behavior of God in biblical times as well as in the world today. For example, most Christians accept the tenet that God loves us unconditionally. He is often portrayed as the good father. Yet he does not shield us from all the pain and suffering that is common to man. I remember in 2018 my adult daughter, Sakin, had an eight-hour surgery in her battle with pancreatic cancer. This was an extremely difficult time for her, and it was an agonizing time for me. As her father, I was willing to do anything to relieve her of what she was facing, including taking her place on the operating table. But that was not possible. Despite my love for her, my ability to assist her was limited. Like many loving fathers all over the world, what I would do for my children is limited only by the resources at my disposal. On the other hand, we say God's love is boundless and that his resources are unlimited. Moreover, we say that he is the perfect father. So why does he allow his children to undergo the pain, suffering, and hardship that many experience