I am a firm believer in the concept of God, the Father, the Creator of heaven and earth, the center of all goodness and righteousness. I understand greatly that there are people out there besides me and my fellow God-worshippers that will disagree but let me tell you that this is my personal story and I will not condemn or judge you for your contrasting beliefs. I know that not everyone is the same and that each and every one of us has our own individual thoughts and personal stories about this subject so please if you don’t share my enthusiasm for Him then kindly bow out and read another article. Thank you.

As for those of you who know and understand my stance, here it goes. What and who is God? Christianity and other similar religions say that He is the Supreme Being that resides somewhere in the heavens and that He created the whole universe and the first two humans and that He keeps watch over us noting our good as well as bad behavior so that when we exit this temporary world, we will be judged accordingly and will be sent to the appropriate realm (heaven or hell) for eternity.

I was taught about God by my dear mom from an early age because she herself is a devout Catholic (Christian) and that her parents are catechists who must ensure that the people of their assigned Catholic congregation are schooled and educated on the ways of the Roman Catholic Church. I remember very well my Mom’s words on God: “God is your father and creator, therefore you must obey Him and practice good morals in order to be blessed by Him and to go on to heaven when we both die.”

And I, being the simple little child I was back in the day, would nod my little head, sniff, and engrave it in my mind that God is to be revered or the devil (which my mom would mention with a firm distaste in her tone) would come and whisk me off to hell (again, my mom would say this term with a negative edge in her voice) where all the wicked children are burning for all time. I remember shuddering at this severe image which from then on would be recurring every time I am stuck in trying to make an important decision and honestly, I have made tons of mistakes but that’s a story for another article some other time.

My whole life since childhood, I have feared to disobey God because of the idea of hell and because I have witnessed the fruits of following Him and the opposite if I stray from His commandments. For me, there are numerous times where He came to my rescue whenever something bad happens to me. He would always change the negative into the positive resulting in me praising and exalting His awesomeness and amazing love and support for me.

All throughout my life I have fed my soul with His words and actions via the Holy Bible and through pamphlets from non-denominational Christian entities. Aside from those, I also gained so much knowledge about Him from religious Hollywood classics like Benhur(starring Charlton Heston); The Ten Commandments (also starring Charlton Heston); and Christian-centered greats like Franco Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth and most recently Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. In addition, I follow a lot of inspirational accounts on various social media platforms that continue to teach the world about His Greatness in this technologically advanced era we are living in.

Some of my blessings that I really believe were bestowed upon me because of my faith and acknowledgement of Him include accomplishments like attending Stanford University as part of the governmental Junior Statesmen of America summer program; my past employments which always plant a smile on my face when I reminisce about them and the struggles I went through in attaining them; my own loving family (especially my dear mom who initially blessed me by teaching me about Him); my achieving of my Associate’s degree (from Pierce College at Fort Steilacoom in Washington state) and my Bachelor’s degree (from here at Southern New Hampshire University online). The gift of life that enables me to be alive to experience His magnificence. These and many other fantastic favors all make me tearful when I think about His generosity.

However, naysayers may object and say: “But there’s nothing perfect in life, James! We are definitely sure that there must have been times when you wanted to curse God and die or when Satan won you over right?" Unfortunately, as with all things in this universe, there are still occurrences and elements about me that are plaguing my experience and existence here on earth.

These range from unfortunate failures to unpredictable happenings that would make the enemy of God laugh. I have prayed and practiced meditative, religious, and spiritual means to help alleviate their negative effects on me and my relationship with God. I am here to tell you that I do understand that these are: from the devil because he is testing my faith to see if I truly love God; these afflictions are all a part of heaven’s plan in the shaping of my life, that these have molded me into becoming more humble, more loving, and more understanding and patient; and nothing is permanent and that these trials and tribulations will all dissipate leaving behind victories, gifts, and graces of God.

Some of my favorite passages about God from the Holy Bible are the following:

Psalm 86:15

“You oh Lord, are a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, plentiful in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

Proverbs 8:17 God says:

“I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.”

Isaiah 41:10

“Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Matthew 11:28

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that He gaveth His only Son Jesus that whoever will believeth in Him will not die but have eternal life.”

Those and many other amazing quotes about God keep me afloat during times when I feel like giving up or when I think of taking my own life. I also find solace in the Bible’s Book of Job where a man goes through a lot of pain (emotional, physical, spiritual, you name it) and yet never gives up on loving and praising God. I equate myself to the main protagonist because my life is one of suffering and instead of cursing God and die, I always try with all my might to believe that God will eventually give me my rainbow after the storm, even if it is after I die.

So recapping what I said before, I believe that my life is blessed (in my own eyes, when I think overall the blessings and miracles that have occurred instead of the miserable ones), because of God. That through all the pain and filth and wrongs and mistakes I traverse through, I know in my heart and soul that God is here with me, helping me along, fighting my battles for me, and lifting me up on His shoulders shielding me from dangers waiting to attack me on my journey.

I know that God hears my every groan, my every complaint, my every tear, because I always seek Him out through prayer and patience. When all is said and done, I cry out to Him to save me, help me, aid me because I will never resort to suicide as that is a sin I strongly am against. I am blessed in my life because I have God and not only that, I know that there are prayer warriors out there among my family and friends who are looking out for me.

Those who wish me well. (A huge thanks to them all!) As a closure, I hope that you take divine inspiration from this and use it for your own good. I hope that you believe everything I have mentioned and that you will live and experience the much, much goodness and righteousness of God when you simply have Him in your life. Just let go and let God. Amen.