"God is not a big, mean tease"

Debra at As I See It Now considers what we have going for us in answering God's call on our lives:

When God wants us to do something--as in fulfill our calling or put our gifts to use-- He provides the way and means with which to do that. And the necessary time. And money.

God is not a big, mean tease. He does not require something of us and yet make it impossible for us to do whatever it may be. He, instead, provides a way where there is no way. Opens doors other men may close (opens a few windows, too).

I, for one, need to hear that. How many of us, deep down, think of God as "a big, mean tease"? Or do we feel that God is a cosmic cop waiting to bust us for fouling up? As a much younger man, my faith grew exponentially when I finally decided that a loving God doesn't play "gotcha" with our souls. Yet here I am years later still needing to be reminded that God "does not require something of us and make it impossible for us to do." Praise God that his love is patient.