Even When We're Mad at Him, God Still Covers Us by Patrick Carden
http://www.identitynetwork.net/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&view=post&articleid=Even-When-Were-Mad-at-Him-God-Still-Covers-Us-by-Patrick-Carden-&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
By Patrick Carden
There are moments in life when the weight of disappointment, grief, or unanswered prayers becomes too heavy to carry. In those moments, many of us have felt the urge to cry out, to question, to even rage at God. We don't talk much about how being angry at God feels like spiritual treason. But the truth is, it's human. It's real. And surprisingly, it's also where love shows up in one of its most powerful forms.
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There are moments in life when the weight of disappointment, grief, or unanswered prayers becomes too heavy to carry. In those moments, many of us have felt the urge to cry out, to question, to even rage at God. We don’t talk much about how being angry at God feels like spiritual treason. But the truth is, it’s human. It’s real. And surprisingly, it’s also where love shows up in one of its most powerful forms.
God can handle our anger. In fact, Scripture gives us full permission to bring our honest emotions before Him. Job cried out in frustration. David poured out anguish in the Psalms. Even Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross, expressed deep sorrow and pain. If the Son of God could wrestle in His spirit, surely, we’re allowed the same space.
But here's the mystery of divine love: even when we’re mad at God, He still covers us.
When we distance ourselves from Him, He doesn't pull away. When we stop praying, He keeps listening. When we turn our backs, He still holds us in His mercy. That’s not conditional love. That’s covenant love. That's a covering that doesn't depend on our feelings, but on His faithfulness.
In the same way a parent continues to feed, clothe, and protect a teenager going through a rebellious phase, God doesn’t withdraw His presence just because we’re upset. He understands the language of broken hearts. He is fluent in frustration, grief, and even silence. And through it all, He wraps us in grace we don’t earn and mercy we don’t always recognize.
It’s easy to believe God is with us when things are going well. But the deeper truth, the healing truth, is that He’s just as present when we’re in pieces. Love that covers us at our best and at our worst is a love worth trusting, even when we don’t understand.
Maybe you're there right now, in that in-between place where you're disappointed, confused, or angry at how things are unfolding. If so, don’t shame yourself. Bring it to God. Yell if you need to. Cry if you must. Be silent if words won’t come.
And while you're doing that, know this: He’s not mad at you. He’s not distant. He’s still covering you with the same faithful love that has always been there. Not because you feel good about Him, but because He is good.
That’s love.
Patrick Carden
http://www.identitynetwork.net/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=Chrysalis-A-Sacred-Symbol-of-Transformation-by-Patrick-Carden-&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
In nature, chrysalis is the quiet, in-between space where a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. It is a place of waiting, of hidden growth, of mystery. To the naked eye, it may appear that nothing is happening. But inside the chrysalis, an extraordinary transformation is underway—a complete metamorphosis. Spiritually, the chrysalis offers us a profound metaphor for our own journeys of change, healing, and rebirth.
http://www.identitynetwork.net/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=God-is-Good-and-You-are-Good-with-God-by-Patrick-Carden-&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
In a world that constantly shifts the definition of who belongs and who doesn't, it's comforting—no, liberating—to rest in the truth that God's love is exclusively inclusive. It's not a contradiction; it's a holy mystery. The goodness of God is not diluted by extending grace to all—it is revealed through it. And because God is good, you are good with God.
http://www.identitynetwork.net/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=A-Faith-Built-on-Love-Justice-Grace-and-Truth-by-Patrick-Carden-&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
In a world of shifting values and loud ideologies, it can be difficult to define what real faith looks like. Too often, religion is distorted into something rigid, divisive, or transactional, focused more on who's "in" or "out" than on who needs to be loved. But Jesus didn't come to establish a hierarchy or build a fence. He came to build a foundation—one that is rooted in love, justice, grace, and truth. When these four pillars hold up our faith, we reflect the heart of God to a broken world.
