I have been encountering more and more people who are listing their top excuse for walking away from an active relationship with God as a personal “crisis of faith.”  A crisis of faith typically follows a disappointment with God.  In some form or fashion, God did not show up for them, or so they think.

Perhaps the truth is more closely related to the fact that God did not show up in the way they had projected Him to or believed He would.  Multiply this a few times over and our feelings take over our spirit, while disappointment overshadows any sense of Biblical truth.

I heard about a college professor who asked his students to respond to two questions on the first day of class.  Question number one was, “Who is God to you?”  Question number two was, “Who are you?”  His observation was to repeatedly discover his students answers to be the same for both questions.  The point becomes that we tend to humanize God and see Him as we see ourselves within our own limitations.

But here’s the funny thing to me.  How come no one ever has a crisis of faith when all kinds of good is happening in their lives?  I never heard anyone say, “I walked away from God because life was just too good, too easy.”  Somehow, in our finite minds, we connect God to all the bad that happens to us, all the loss and all the difficulties in life.  But isn’t that exactly when we really do need an active faith?  Jesus told us that it was the sick who needed a doctor, not the well person.

Would you be willing to take another look at your view of God and exactly who He is in your life?  Perhaps the better question to meditate on is how does God feel about you, not how do you feel about God.  It seems with that former question we choose the “I think He likes me” button and in effect, we can totally miss Him.

Exodus chapter 34 excites me when it comes to this One named Yahweh:

Yahweh! The Lord!  The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.  I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.  I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.

And check this out, “He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.”  (Psalms 103:10)

Does that describe the God you know?  If you’re experiencing some form of faith crisis, then consider whether or not your beliefs line up with who God is and how much He loves you.