Lately, I’ve found myself in conversation with people doubting either God’s existence, His goodness, or His abilities. The people ask questions like—if there is a God, why is there so much wickedness in the world? Why is there suffering, or who created evil? Surely God must be good and evil; He can’t be all good, all the time.
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Honestly, sometimes I don’t know how to engage these people, some who even claim to be Christians. The only ammunition I have is the word of God, which they sometimes claim was fabricated by men, for selfish ambition. This then got me thinking, is the issue a church issue, the way God is represented by man issue, or a lack of relationship with God issue? I choose to go with the last option, and I will tell you why.
So I was on a work trip to Ekiti recently, and I was busy enjoying the scenery, when two guys who also came on the trip, came to sit where I was sat, and carry out a conversation about God and religion. I ignored the conversation for a while and then decided to chime in, because hey, I am of Let’s Talk Nation, and our platform is built on conversations, and a conversation about our favorite topic-God, was happening right in front of me, and I no other choice than to join in.
Initially I thought one of them was Muslim, so I had to watch my words carefully, so as not to offend someone of a different belief system than me, and his name threw me off as well, until I mustered up the courage to ask if he was Christian, because of some of the things he was saying, and behold, he was a Christian. They started with the question, did we really come from Adam and Eve alone? And continued with; who wrote the bible? If God knew eve was going to eat the fruit, why did He put the tree there? Who created evil? God must be good and evil. After debating with them, well more like arguing, I concluded that all of this questioning, most times come about because of a lack of relationship with God.
If people had relationships with God, outside of their weekly gatherings at church, we wouldn’t have half of these questions, “Christians” are asking, it would be settled in their hearts. Even those who ended up departing from the faith, because of something someone did, is also from a lack of intimacy with God. Let’s first start by saying, God is not an unapproachable being who resides in a place where we have no access to. Maybe, in the beginning, it started that way, where we had to go through several people to get to Him, but after Jesus came, all of that was done away with. We now have free access to God, through Jesus Christ, as He said—“no one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
God speaks to us through our spirit, and it translates in different ways. The way He relates to me might be different from the way he relates to you. There are people who say; they hear the audible voice of God, that has never happened to me, at least not yet. He speaks to my heart, most times when I am asleep, I hear this still, calm voice in my spirit, and I know He is the one, so I wake up and write the things down before I forget them. Also, through dreams, he shows me things and also speaks through people in dreams. I know this because these are usually prophetic words, that are relevant to what I’m dealing with, and I write them down as well and remind Him of His promises until they come to pass.
One instance was when I heard him say these words to me, in my sleep—“the steps of a good man are ordered by God, and He delights in every detail of his life.” I woke up and wrote it down immediately and thanked Him for His words, because they encouraged me, that He saw me and He was with me. Fast forward a couple of days later, a leader in my bible study group had written a word for me, a few months prior, and had not yet given the note to me.
Then she handed it to me, stating she felt led by God to give it to me. Then I opened it up in the middle of the night and saw the same thing God had spoken to me, a few days earlier. That just confirmed His word and His plan for my life. I texted her immediately, telling her about what happened, so she could also be encouraged that she indeed heard from God.
With all of this happening in my life, and how I communicate with Him, there is no one who could come and try to convince me otherwise that He isn’t good, or He doesn’t exist, because I hear his voice and I have a relationship with Him. Now let’s say, for example, you know your father’s voice, even when you don’t see him, but hear him, you know he is the one. This has come about from the years and years of cultivating a relationship with him, that you now know him like the back of your hands.
No one on God’s earth can convince you otherwise that your father exists, or make you doubt his characteristics because you know him! It’s the same way with God, Jesus said—my sheep know my voice, and the voice of a stranger, they do not follow (John 10:27). So if people focused more on cultivating their relationship with God, they wouldn’t have all these questions, and it wouldn’t even matter if God created the earth in seven days or if Adam and Eve were really the first humans on earth. All of that is not as relevant as Christ came, died, and rose again for the salvation for anyone who would believe Him, that is all. Let us stop with the petty arguments and focus on the main thing—Jesus Christ.
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About The Author: Evi Idoghor is a Christian, writer and content creator on Letstalknationblog.com. She is a chemical engineering graduate from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Consumed by her love for writing and desire to effect change, she launched her online platform––Let’s Talk Nation––to tap into her creativity and start meaningful conversations that would make a difference around the world.
Most of her writing has been influenced by her time spent in America, where she lived for about 11 years. Also, she lived in Nigeria and South Korea and currently loves traveling the world while learning about other fascinating cultures. You can find her on all social media platforms with @eviidoghor.