Several months ago I had extensive hail damage at my house. The insurance company sent an appraiser and the appraiser decided it could be fixed for $9,000. Because so many houses had been damaged in my city, it was going to be a while before the contractor could repair it.

A few days later the insurance adjustor visited my house and wanted to give me a check for $9,000. Of course I invited him in, made him comfortable, and prepared to receive my money. He had the check in his hand along with a form. He said to me, "All you have to do is sign this form and the $9,000 is yours."

He handed me the form, and before I signed it, I glanced over the wording and these words leaped off the page. "This storm damage was an act of God."

I handed the form back to the adjustor and said, "I'm sorry. I can't sign this form." With a puzzled look, he said, "Why not? All you have to do is sign this form and I'll give you $9,000." I told him that if I signed the form, I would be saying that God had destroyed the roof on my house and God didn't destroy my roof. The insurance man said, "Then who did destroy your roof?" I said, "It wasn't God. It was the devil." He laughed, handed the form back to me and said, "Just go ahead and sign the form and I'll give you your check."

I stood my ground. I said, "I will not sign a form that says that God destroyed my house." The insurance man grabbed the form out of my hand, crossed out the word "God" and wrote "devil" above it. He handed it back to me and said, "Will you sign it now?" I said, "Certainly!" I signed the form, I took my check and everyone was happy.

The world believes that hurricanes, tornadoes, and storms are an "act of God." But that is so untrue. James 1:17 says that God is a good God and that every good gift comes from Him and that He doesn't change. Jesus said in John 10:10 that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. In order to receive the blessing of God, we must first believe that His blessing is good.

The Bible says that we are to rightly divide the Word. If we are told to rightly divide the Word, that must mean that it is possible to wrongly divide the Word. Much of the wrong division of God's Word is because some do not understand that God is a good God who has good gifts and He never lies, and that the devil is a bad devil, full of evil, and he can't tell the truth.

So the next time someone tells you that a great destruction is an act of God, look to the Word and you will find God is not the destroyer, but God is a good God.

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:10.)

"That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us." (Hebrews 6:18.)

"You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." (John 8:44.)

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