Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

That makes a lot of sense – if we want to draw near to God, we need to believe that he exists. The question is, do we invent him in your image or learn from him who he is?

I’ve tried it both ways. Inventing my own god just got me to be more comfortable in my sin, rationalizing away what was really wrong – self centered, self serving, pretty sick. I still carry vestiges of that in my life and will be pumping that bilge forever. Now though, the pump, the filter is God on His terms, and not just through fox hole prayers.

1 Peter 4:12-13 (ESV)
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

So God tests us to see who we’re going to side with – him or us. We have the honor of sharing Christ’s sufferings. If we believe God exists, if we believe that God is bigger than we are and more capable, if we believe that there is a heaven and a reason for life, it’s time to really consider who God is; it’s time to believe in a higher power that is a higher power, not an equal or lower power. A chair, a karma, a dogma, a runoverma, a whatever isn’t a higher power, no matter how we try to make it so – it’s something lower than us. Quite simply, that might be a god, but that’s not God and the results are what we create, not God.

What is your faith in?

Proverbs 11:28 (MSG)
28 A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump;
a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.

Flourish!