A God I Know vs. A God I Don't Know by Carolyn

My dear husband bought me a laptop for Christmas. Our old computer broke and it was going to take a long time to fix it. I was thrilled with a laptop! I gave it a name. I carried Potpal everywhere delighted with the freedom it provided me and excited that I finally had a fast computer. It was so fast, it was faster than I. I expected it to wait for me to decide what we would do and when, but it made its own decisions. It sent unfinished email, or hid it completely. It saved nothing unless it decided it was worth saving. I hit save, it deleted. I deleted, it saved.

I noticed a change in myself. I was jumpy. Nervous. Testy. One day I lost it all, my work and my self-control. I jumped out of my chair in a fury. It was the last straw. My husband said, "Give me your hand." "Why?" I asked. "Just give me your hand." When I did, he touched a lamp and said, "There. Now you're grounded." "What? You mean I can't go out?" No. Could it have been static electricity making Potpal frantic? I don't know, but it worked fine for a day or two, lulling me into trusting it, so it could stab me in the back again.

I complained to friends who kindly offered suggestions. I called a computer expert to come over and help me figure out what was happening. For awhile, things would improve and then something else would go wrong. The mouse jumped around, not giving a fig where it was supposed to be. If I dared look at the keyboard, the mouse took offense and flew off to a previous paragraph inserting a new line of type. Lines of type disappeared. Whole paragraphs went missing.

I wasn't myself anymore. I asked the Lord repeatedly for patience. Then Potpal made a fatal mistake. It messed with my husband. Bad idea. That was it! Out with the old, in with the new! He replaced it. I have a new laptop! I tell it what to do and it responds! It is the most amazing thing. Why Potpal was so sensitive and insenstive, I do not know. Perhaps there is a setting somewhere that would correct the problem.

All this got me thinking about the God I know. Not the God I know of, the God I know. My God is the Maker of heaven and earth. He is the Eternal Father strong to save. He reveals to me through the Bible what pleases Him and what does not. He promises me He will never leave me or forsake me. I am His and He is mine! I know what He expects from me and I can trust Him with my life. He never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He's a prayer away, sometimes closer than that. He won't delete me no matter how many mistakes I make, nor how bad they are. He has saved me. He is worthy of my worship, adoration, praise and thanksgiving. I put my faith in Him and He is faithful. He does not disappoint! Ever. At the end of the day He is still who He says He is!

What about the god I don't know? What kind of a God don't I believe in ? I don't believe in god with a little "g." I don't believe in a god who won't tell me who he is or how to please him. I don't believe in a god who never sent his son to show me who he is. I don't believe in a merciless, capricious, bitter little god who is impossible to please. I don't believe in a god I can not know.

According to Acts 17:23, Paul saw an altar in Athens with the inscription "To an Unknown God." Many people today believe in an unknown God. Jesus says in Mark 1:14, "The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the Good News!" God IS revealed through His Son, Jesus.

Stuart Townend, who writes Christian music and songs, puts it this way in his song, "There is Hope." "There is a hope that stands the test of time, That lifts my eyes beyond the beckoning grave, To see the matchless beauty of a day divine, when I behold His face, When sufferings cease and sorrows die, And every longing satisfied, Then joy unspeakable will fill my soul, For I am truly home." No more Potpals for me!