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=The-Spiritual-Discipline-of-Turning-Down-the-Volume-by-Patrick-Carden-&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
If there's one thing we all feel these days, it's the noise. Life is loud, not just in the literal sense, but emotionally, spiritually, culturally. It's as if the world collectively decided the volume knob should stay permanently cranked to eleven. News alerts, opinions, arguments, crises, commentary…everything is urgent, everything is dramatic, and everything demands our attention right now. But when everything is loud, it becomes nearly impossible to hear the things that matter.
http://www.identitynetwork.net/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=The-Act-of-Holy-Listening-by-Patrick-Carden-&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
In a world full of noise with constant notifications, endless commentary, and conversations that often feel more like competitions, true listening is becoming a lost art. We hear just enough to respond, but rarely enough to understand. We listen long enough to defend our point, but seldom long enough to discern someone's heart. Yet throughout Scripture and in the life of Jesus, we see a different way: the way of holy listening.
http://www.identitynetwork.net/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=The-Grace-to-Disagree-by-Patrick-Carden-&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
We live in a world where disagreement feels like a declaration of war. Where differing opinions can cost friendships, split churches, and divide families. It seems like we've forgotten how to disagree without disrespect; how to stand firm in truth without standing against people. But grace invites us to something better. Grace says, "You don't have to think like me for me to love you." It reminds us that relationship is not built on sameness. It's built on sacred worth. Every person we encounter is made in the image of God, even those whose opinions we find frustrating, offensive, or just plain wrong.
