by Cindy Robbins

I remember at the women’s retreat several years ago Angel Davis spoke on the concept that “God’s simple is profound.” I believe that will forever stick with me because in my spiritual gifting of discernment, I notice people tend to over-complicate God. 

Please don’t hear me trying to act like God is “simple” – far from the truth. The point instead is this – if you have focused too much on the details, ask yourself why Christ called us to have “child-like faith.” 

As a parent, I’m learning all too well the importance of consistent and understandable discipline. We need that as adults too. Yet I also realize that people do better to know the “why” behind the rules. Faith isn’t obedience based on fear of getting the rules wrong, it’s believing in the “why” and that its path leads to goodness of greater purpose. 

So what is God’s simple yet profound “why?” I think it is combating hopelessness. To put it even more simply – having purpose. 

If we stop the focus on ourselves and our fears for even 30 minutes to listen with open hearts to the fears of others, you’ll notice the theme in anger, anxiety, selfishness, etc. is fear-based, otherwise known as a lack of hope. Fixating on what we disbelieve in rather than focusing on what OUR purpose is, which is given by God alone. 

This breaks my heart and I believe it’s what Jesus came to individualize to each person. That’s His “telling me everything I’ve ever done” (see the woman at the well) and yet she, as quite the sinner in her day, went away with PRAISE. Why? Because the message wasn’t about her mistakes, it was a message of HOPE! She was told that Christ was here and He was changing things from the former ways that brought her to hopelessness. Her choices of sin were her own, yet Christ knew her. He knew her story and that it was hopelessness (and shame) that drove those choices. His response? Turn to Me instead of your own fears. 

Guess what- He is saying the same to us today for anything and everything we face. Stop complicating things, especially His ways, and simply turn to Him for profound HOPE that never runs dry.