There are times where I'm like "um, ok last month was a better God month." He was doing stuff, I could see it, I could feel His presence on everything around me....He was on a ROLL! Now, I think He's just more focused on other people. I mean after all, He does have a universe to run....and...I'm just one tiny person, at one particular moment in the history of this place. I should just be grateful He visited me. I can't expect Him to be blowing my mind 24/7...can I?
Well I think that depends on your mind....or rather, what you keep your mind on.
"The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You."
Isaiah 26:3
First, I think we can all admit that there are times when (it seems) God does HUGE things in our lives, and other times where He's doing small things, or maybe nothing at all. This week was the same as last week, maybe worse. Just the same ol routine. I'm getting worn out.
It happens, but we must not let our stinkin' thinkin' stink up the place. Time to neutralize the infection with a truth antidote. You with me? Here's some of my favorites:
"[You]...are intimately acquainted with all my ways...in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, when there was not yet one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand." Psalm 139:3,16-18
I love that whole chapter. It's David just going "oh WOW, how specific your attention is to ME oh God!" And he's like "I can't escape it, not that I would want to, but if I tried, where could I go that you are not there with me?"
See I think at the core of this issue is the fundamental problem we have as finite beings. We evaluate the small part of what we actually see God doing, and then process that through our fallible, sinful, system of understanding that is naturally bent towards answering the question of "how does this benefit me?" (forgetting that me and this whole deal is for His glory, not mine). And out the other side comes a conclusion as to whether what happened was "good" or "bad".
I work in software, and I love analogies. When one of our systems is going through testing, we inevitably will receive back bug reports. Sometimes these are obvious errors in the system, but other times the system performed as designed and the problem is that the user had different expectations of the system than what it was designed for. So who's wrong?
See I see that as how we attempt to relate to God sometimes. We so desperately want to see Him working in our lives that sometimes we only accept His workings if we can recognize them....if they fit our predetermined idea of what we are expecting Him to do.
I think God wants to shatter that idea. I love how Romans 9:20-21 uses this analogy (told you I like analogies) of clay and the potter "The thing molded will not say to the molder, 'Why did you make me like this', will it?" We are all just pieces of clay, trying to tell other pieces of clay what the potter is like.
So let's remind our hearts of the truth He's given us, and take Him at His word. That He does all things well, all the time, and for our ultimate good (as He defines good), even when I can't see it. The road is hard, very hard, but He's promised to get the job done.
God is in the details, every one of them.
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
"If it had not been for the love of GOD the FATHER looking down upon me in my utter ruin and providing a perfect atonement for me in the death of His own Son on the cross of Calvary, I would have been in hell today. If it had not been for the love of JESUS CHRIST, the eternal Word of God, looking upon me in my utter ruin and in obedience to the FATHER, putting aside all the glory of heaven for all the shame of earth and taking my place, the place of the curse, upon the cross of Calvary and pouring out His life utterly for me, I would have been in hell today. But if it had not been for the love of the HOLY SPIRIT, sent by the FATHER in answer to the prayer of the SON leading HIM to seek me out in my utter blindness and ruin, I would have been in hell today.
HE followed me day after day, week after week, year after year when I persistently turned a deaf ear to HIS pleadings, following me through paths of sin where it must have been agony for that HOLY ONE to go until I at last listened, and HE opened my eyes to see my utter ruin and then revealed JESUS to me as just the Savior that would meet my every need and then enabled me to receive this JESUS as my Savior. If it had not been for the patient, long-suffering, never-tiring, infinitely-tender love of the HOLY SPIRIT, I would have been in hell today."
- R.A. Torey
When you and I begin to understand who we are in Jesus Christ, and what He has done for us, our perspective on the here-and-now and eternity changes radically! For example, in Jesus Christ:
MY RELATIONSHIP I am reconciled to God - 2 Cor 5:18 I’m a child of God - He is my Father - 1 Jn 3:1,2 I am a saint - Eph 1:1; 1 Cor 1:2; Phil 1:1 I am Christ’s friend - Jn 15:15 I am a fellow citizen in God’s kingdom - Eph 2:19 I am born of God - 1 Jn 4:7 I have been brought near to Christ - Eph 2:13 I have been adopted by God - Rom 8:15 I’m to be righteous and holy like God - Eph 4:24 I have direct access to God - Eph 2:18
MY INHERITANCE I am a citizen of heaven - Phil 3:20 I am an heir of God - Rom 8:17 I’ve been rescued from Satan’s domain - Col 1:13 I am a joint heir with Christ - Rom 8:17; Gal 4:7 I am hidden with Christ in God - Col 3:3 I am blessed with every spiritual blessing - Eph 1:3 I am chosen of God - holy, beloved - Col 3:12 I am a child of promise - Rom 9:8; Gal 3:14 I am a child of light, not darkness - 1 Thess 5:5 I’ve been given great promises - 2 Pet 1:4 I am a partaker of Christ - Heb 3:14 I’m one of God’s living stones - 1 Pet 2:5
MY TRANSFORMATION I’m a member of a royal priesthood - 1 Pet 2:9 I’m redeemed and forgiven - Eph 1:6-8 I’m to be a stranger to this world - 1 Pet 2:11 I’ve been justified - made righteous - Rom 5:1 I’m an enemy of the devil - 1 Pet 5:8 I have eternal life - Jn 5:24 I died w/Christ to the power of sin - Rom 6:1-6
MY CALLING I am free from condemnation - Rom 8:1 I am to be salt on the earth - Mt 5:13 I have received the Spirit of God -1 Cor 2:12 I am to be light in the world - Mt 5:14 I have been given the mind of Christ - 1 Cor 2:16 I’m chosen and appointed to bear fruit - Jn 15:16 I have been crucified with Christ - Gal 2:20 I am called to do the works of Christ - Jn 14:12 I am a new creation - 2 Cor 5:17 I am to do what Christ commanded His disciples - Mt 28:20 I have been made alive with Christ - Eph 2:5 I have been given spiritual authority - Lk 10:19 I am God’s workmanship - Eph 2:10 Signs should accompany my work - Mk 16:17-20 I have received fullness in Christ - Col 2:10 I am a minister of a new covenant - 2 Cor 3:6 I am a minister of reconciliation - 2 Cor 5:18,19
MY POSITION I am to be an expression of life in Christ - Col 3:4 I am connected to the true vine - Jn 15:1,5 I am a partaker of a heavenly calling - Heb 3:1 I’m a willing slave of righeousness - Rom 6:18,22 I am a temple of God - 1 Cor 3:16; 6:19 I am one spirit with the Lord - 1 Cor 6:17 I am a member of Christ’s body - 1 Cor 12:27
I AM ACCEPTED
I am God's child. - John 1:12 As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ. - John 15:15 I have been justified. - Romans 5:1 I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit. - 1 Corinthians 6:17 I have been bought with a price and I belong to God. - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 I am a member of Christ's body. - 1 Corinthians 12:27 I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child. - Ephesians 1:3-8 I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. - Colossians 1:13-14 I am complete in Christ. - Colossians 2:9-10 I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ. - Hebrews 4:14-16
I AM SECURE
I am free from condemnation. - Romans 8:1-2 I am assured that is God working for my good in all circumstances. - Romans 8:28 I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I cannot be separated from the love of God. - Romans 8:31-39 I have been established, anointed and sealed by God. - 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 I am hidden with Christ in God. - Colossians 3:1-4 I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me. - Philippians 1:6 I am a citizen of heaven. - Philippians 3:20 I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. - 2 Timothy 1:7 I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me. - 1 John 5:18
I AM SIGNIFICANT I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life. - John 15:5 I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit. - John 15:16 I am God's temple. - 1 Corinthians 3:16 I am a minister of reconciliation for God. - 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm. - Ephesians 2:6 I am God's workmanship. - Ephesians 2:10 I may approach God with freedom and confidence. - Ephesians 3:12 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. - Philippians 4:13
Recently, a young African pastor was martyred for his unwavering faith in our LORD JESUS CHRIST. With the sentence of death upon him and his impending death imminent, he penned his own epitaph just hours before his execution. After his death and his inauguration into GLORY, the epitaph that was later found in his desk drawer is as follows:
"MY COMMITMENT AS A CHRISTIAN"
I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have HOLY SPIRIT power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of HIS. I won’t look back, let down, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight-walking, small planning, smooth knees, cheap living and dwarfed goals. I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotion, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on HIS presence, walk by patience, live by prayer, and labor by power. My face is set, my gate is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, and my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, turned back, lured away, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the enemy, negotiate at the table of the adversary, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won’t give up, shut up, or let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up and preached up for the cause of CHRIST; I am a disciple of JESUS. I must go till HE comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till HE stops me. When HE comes for HIS own, HE will have no problem recognizing me. My banner will be clear...
He is all that my soul longs for, to be loved, to be cherished.
He draws near to me in my brokenness.
He comforts me in my pain.
He walks with me every moment.
He holds my tears in His bottle.
In my darkest moments, I can almost feel His heartbeat as He pulls me into His chest.
He calls me "son".
Jesus calls me "brother" and "friend".
He delights in my surrender.
He brings the greatest joy.
He has provided for my every need.
He has blessed me beyond measure.
He's the greatest phenomenon to ever walk this earth.
He gave His life for mine.
He's my Savior...and this is LOVE
The lines are drawn, the armies there Shouts of war fill the air... The brave, the mighty going out There's always a cost......and blood no doubt!
Warrior's dressed in full array They've been there forty nights and days... And still the strongman stands unbound With no challenger within his sound.
Would that God would show His hand! Would that there was one true man! To look in the face of nine feet of death... And never EVER loose one breath.
Then one fair boy, surely not a man -- Kind of ruddy in face and probably tan, Heard the name of His God being blasphemed from afar... Said "That one taunt is enough ~ he's gone too far!"
With the name of the Lord and a sling in his hand David met Goliath -- the strongman of the land! He said "The Lord doesn't deliver by sword or by spear!.. The battle is the Lord's and His power is here!"
The zeal of the Lord launched that stone in the air! It had proved itself before against the lion and the bear! "This uncircumcised Philistine is no different.." David said, "For like the others soon this one too will be dead!"
The sound of a thud...a sword out of sheath... And David with a head and no body beneath! The Philistine army was now on the run... And its just as he said -- "The battle's been won!"
There's a sound that is heard by those that don't fear, And it's only heard by those who are near, Weak souls camped out with the likes of King Saul, Will never be mighty and probably will fall.
The Lord's warriors go out into enemy land, Full of the Spirit -- His weapons in hand! Never a doubt...never thinking of defeat, In this war there's no such thing as retreat.
Yes... There's a sound that is heard by those that don't fear, And it's only heard by those who are near, A distinct sound...not much like it at all -- It's what true warrior's hear............when Goliaths fall!
There are (many) times where God uses my parental role as a father and mentor to our two younger boys to demonstrate His own character and how I relate to Him as my Father. This is a story of one of those moments that happened during Christmas.
We were all taking naps one afternoon. Kevin was sleeping in his room, and Bradley crashed on the couch with me in the living room. We overslept and it began to get dark. So dark, you couldn't see a thing in the house. When all of the sudden, I hear this screech of a cry. It was Kevin. I immediately popped straight up and ran into his room. Didn't even flip the light on. I patted all around his bed, but he was gone! In a moment of panic, I heard him scream out in tears again. It was coming from the other end of the house. I ran back to the middle of the house, confused and unable to find him. He screamed again and I zero'd in on the source. It was coming from our bedroom. I ran into our bedroom, flipped on the light, and found Kevin on our bed. He was sitting on his knees, bent over pouring tears into my pillow. I ran over to him and engulfed him in my arms. He clung to me and continued to drench my shoulder with his tears as I said over and over "It's OK Kevin. Daddy's here. I love you. I love you. I'm here. I love you Kevin. Everything will be OK. I love you." I repeated "I love you" over and over through tears of my own, as we held each other for the next 15 minutes. He wouldn't let me go, and I wouldn't let him go. It was the sweetest 15 minutes I've ever had with him.
What happened was, he woke up from his nap to a pitch black house and was scared. He must have walked right past me and Bradley on the couch (sound asleep) but unable to see us. He managed to climb up on our bed (which is not easy for him). And just...the terror that came over him when I wasn't where he expected to find me.
I could see myself in Kevin in that moment. How, when I was lost and scared for my life, I went running to my Father. And He was there, ready and willing, to wrap His loving arms around me and hold me tightly to His chest. Whispering into my ear, "I love you Justin, I love you." And in His arms, all my fears are swept away. He never fails.
What a sweet reminder to know He "holds my tears in a bottle" (Psalm 56:8) and that "His thoughts are precious towards me" (Psalm 139:17).
He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen; Talks familiarly everyday to someone he cannot see; Expects to go to heaven on the virtue of another; Empties himself in order to be full; Admits he is wrong so he can be declared right; Goes down in order to get up; Is strongest when he is weakest, Richest when he is poorest, Happiest when he feels the worst; He dies so he can live; Forsakes in order to have; Gives away so he can keep; Sees the invisible; Hears the inaudible; And knows that which passeth knowledge;
