THIS WEEK has been good. Really, really good. Something you might not know about me is that every night before I go to sleep, I love to write on my calendar what happened that day. If it was a particularly good day, I'll draw a little smiley face so I can remember. I have been blessed to have some great things to write down this week: walking around the Avenues Mall and eating chicken nuggets with my family, going out to get ice cream, watching some really interesting movies, shopping for things for me to use in my room at college in three weeks, and going to Small Group with my friends.
At Small Group we've been going through a book called "A Praying Life," which is helpful in developing the right attitudes and practices regarding effective prayer. This week a major theme in our reading was Psalm 23. When I read it, I realized that it represented my life really well. It's about the way God blesses us, guides us, and stands with us in all situations. Very encouraging. Plus, it's only 6 verses so it's not very hard to memorize and keep with you.
v.1 "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want." This is also translated "I shall not be in want." At Small Group we discussed the way sheep depend on their shepherd. Without him, they can't survive. If they fall over, they need him to pick them up or they just lay there and die. He needs to be there to protect them from danger and give them what they need.
I fear that we all, at one time or another, have too much pride, too much faith in ourselves, to accept that we're like sheep. It takes a lot of humility to admit that we need God just as much as sheep need their shepherd, even just to stay alive. Because He is with us, our souls live forever. Because He provides for us, we will not "be in want," or lack the things we need. Jesus tells us that He is our Shepherd in John 10:11, "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep."
v.2 "He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters." What kind of shepherd would He be if He didn't take good care of us? Sheep couldn't survive in fields without good grass and next to rivers that come up and wash them away. I know it's hard to see where the green pastures and still waters are in a crazy world like this.
But I don't think they represent happy times in life, or even just safety. I think they represent the peace He gives us regardless of our circumstances. That's why a Christian in the Middle East who's waiting in prison for a retrial can remember this psalm and rejoice that God keeps His promises. He keeps us safe within His will, where He leads us, no matter whether life is easy or hard. The green pastures are the unfaltering presence of a God who is greater than our circumstances and stronger than our adversaries.
v.3 "He restores my soul: He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." We've all been in a place where we feel torn up and broken, whether by our own sin or by the results of someone else's. God promises that those moments aren't where things end for us. He looks past our injuries, mistakes, and fears and tells us the story from Luke 15, of the father who takes back his son after he's made every mistake possible. He keeps His promise to guide us and take care of us "for His name's sake," or 'to show that He is faithful.'
v.4 "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." When I read this I understood for the first time something I didn't notice about that valley. I don't know whether this is obvious to everybody else, but if the valley is in "the shadow of death," it is beside the mountain of death. Before, whenever I thought of that valley, I would imagine a dreary, dangerous, overcast place that's no fun to walk in. But now I see that it's in the shadow of an enormous mountain called Death! That valley is where we live. It's a world where death and all kinds of evil are always hanging over our heads.
BUT we will fear no evil, for He is with us. Think about it. In every scary situation you've been in, doesn't it feel better when you're not going through it alone? And isn't it so comforting to have somebody you trust there with you? Faith moves mountains, and God's love is as strong as death. We won't be in this valley forever, but we will be with God forever.
v.5 "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over." Wow. I'm glad we have a God who is never disturbed by any threat. We can look at any struggle and say, as in Romans 8:37, "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."
To "anoint" is a method of washing, a symbol of holiness, and a preparation for a job. Isn't it amazing that God would call us, of all people, holy, and prepare us to be part of the great victory He is winning over death?
Finally, v.6 "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." That's the God we worship. The God of goodness overflowing. The God of abundant, undeserved mercy. He really loves to bless us, so we should delight in honoring Him. I realize that life is great because of the goodness and mercy He is filling it with. I see my life in this psalm because God fulfills His promises. On awesome weeks like this, I really notice it. But when life does get hard, it's even more wonderful to see that His promises are still true.
He is the God of forever. The God of life unaffected by death. When it comes down to it, God is all we have and all we need. A million years after the end of time, He will be the only thing that has lasted, and the only thing we depend on. We surely will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Doubt and Trust
THIS WEEK has been great. I'm reminded of how much I have to be thankful for. I got free milkshakes with my family and played card games, and I finally won a scholarship like I've been praying I would. The sky is sunny and rainy, and life is full and happy like a new bottle of chocolate syrup.
But I know that things aren't always happy. The world is a gruesome place. Just this week I heard on the news about explosions and mass shootings in Norway that make me very disappointed in the world. Norway, of all places! Where are we safe? I was reading in Job the other day and found a verse that really describes the way the world looks right now.
Job 9:24 "The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He [God] covers the faces of its judges - if it is not He, who then is it?"
From the perspective of a distressed earth-dweller, this opinion initially seems valid. Job is asking the reason for all the wickedness and pain he observes, and he concludes that because God is the Lord, He must be responsible. In other words, if this isn't God's fault, whose could it be?
Bombings, shootings, burglaries, and other evil acts naturally make people reevaluate their faith in God because we start to wonder what kind of God lets these things happen. How do we explain evil in a world created by a good God? I think that's where a lot of doubt, agnosticism and atheism spring from. I know a few people in that position, and you probably do as well.
Let me tell you something about doubt, my friend. It begins as a question. Sometimes the answer comes and your doubt passes like a little grey cloud in the sky. But sometimes it destroys you, leaving you with no foundation. How does this happen?
The opposite of doubt is not certainty, but trust. Doubt asks "What if I'm wrong about everything?" and "What if this isn't really true?" Doubt aims for your trust in God, who is the strong foundation you build your life on. But God is trustworthy, and where we have confusion, He has understanding.
He has helped me to understand that He hates the bitterness in this world even more than we do. People are the problem. Sin is the problem. He could either get rid of us, or get rid of sin. So He is actually making a better world by fixing us, which He does through the sacrifice of His Son - the trading of our unrighteousness for His righteousness.
Doubt comes in all forms and in all different circumstances. It could come in a science class, where a book tells you that you're an inconsequential and accidental byproduct of natural processes. Remember that God created natural processes, and you are the work of His hands! Remember the complexity of your parts and that your are fearfully and wonderfully made. Even the eyes you use to read the book could never have been a biological accident.
It could come when disaster and loss strike you, and you wonder if you are truly alone. Cry to God and feel His comforting hand on your shoulder. Of course He hears you over the sound of the whole universe. Isn't His word, that He loves you, greater than the word of anyone else? It is comfoting to know you will never lose Him, the one who loves you most.
Maybe doubt comes when you just don't want to believe what you're seeing. You could actually choose to doubt, for the sake of avoiding conviction. But when people choose independence from God, they choose bondage - freedom from freedom. They have to rely on their own hands, which cannot reach anything big enough to fill the space inside that was created for God to fill. He's right behind you, knocking hard on your door.
I read a story this week that I've read before plenty of times. Never before had God used it to tell me quite what He told me this time. It's in John 9, the one about the man who had been born blind. Jesus spat in the dirt, made clay, and rubbed it on the man's eyes, and for the first time in his life, he could see. How can we explain that? Everybody who saw him doubted either the man's identity or Jesus' holiness. They thought it must be some sort of trick, although it was obvious what had happened. They didn't want to believe because it would mean that Jesus is who He says He is, and that would mean their blatent wrongness would be exposed. Isn't that still how things go?
When they rained questions on the fellow, he gave an answer that I really love.
John 9:25, "He answered, 'Whether this Man is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that thought I was blind, now I see.'"
As a Christian, this encourages me. It means that even when we don't understand what's going on, and doubts fall down and pepper our faith, the fact of salvation is ultimately undeniable. Even when there's a question we can't quite answer, or a matter that troubles us, we can look at our God and see the way He is working, never sitting still. We can even look at ourselves and how He has transformed us and say, Although I know nothing else, "one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."
From where I stand, He is undeniable. We can't understand everything, and we shouldn't try to. But the value of faith is to keep us trusting Him because He is trustworthy, even when doubts arise and questions come up, even when we see how little we know. Faith is not to disregard all doubt, but to respond to it by choosing God's faithfulness. At this point, God has simply done too much for us to have good reason to doubt Him. Amazingly, He responds by just doing even more. Have a little faith, and don't give up on a God who would never give up on you.
Leave a comment or a question, and have a miraculous week!
But I know that things aren't always happy. The world is a gruesome place. Just this week I heard on the news about explosions and mass shootings in Norway that make me very disappointed in the world. Norway, of all places! Where are we safe? I was reading in Job the other day and found a verse that really describes the way the world looks right now.
Job 9:24 "The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He [God] covers the faces of its judges - if it is not He, who then is it?"
From the perspective of a distressed earth-dweller, this opinion initially seems valid. Job is asking the reason for all the wickedness and pain he observes, and he concludes that because God is the Lord, He must be responsible. In other words, if this isn't God's fault, whose could it be?
Bombings, shootings, burglaries, and other evil acts naturally make people reevaluate their faith in God because we start to wonder what kind of God lets these things happen. How do we explain evil in a world created by a good God? I think that's where a lot of doubt, agnosticism and atheism spring from. I know a few people in that position, and you probably do as well.
Let me tell you something about doubt, my friend. It begins as a question. Sometimes the answer comes and your doubt passes like a little grey cloud in the sky. But sometimes it destroys you, leaving you with no foundation. How does this happen?
The opposite of doubt is not certainty, but trust. Doubt asks "What if I'm wrong about everything?" and "What if this isn't really true?" Doubt aims for your trust in God, who is the strong foundation you build your life on. But God is trustworthy, and where we have confusion, He has understanding.
He has helped me to understand that He hates the bitterness in this world even more than we do. People are the problem. Sin is the problem. He could either get rid of us, or get rid of sin. So He is actually making a better world by fixing us, which He does through the sacrifice of His Son - the trading of our unrighteousness for His righteousness.
Doubt comes in all forms and in all different circumstances. It could come in a science class, where a book tells you that you're an inconsequential and accidental byproduct of natural processes. Remember that God created natural processes, and you are the work of His hands! Remember the complexity of your parts and that your are fearfully and wonderfully made. Even the eyes you use to read the book could never have been a biological accident.
It could come when disaster and loss strike you, and you wonder if you are truly alone. Cry to God and feel His comforting hand on your shoulder. Of course He hears you over the sound of the whole universe. Isn't His word, that He loves you, greater than the word of anyone else? It is comfoting to know you will never lose Him, the one who loves you most.
Maybe doubt comes when you just don't want to believe what you're seeing. You could actually choose to doubt, for the sake of avoiding conviction. But when people choose independence from God, they choose bondage - freedom from freedom. They have to rely on their own hands, which cannot reach anything big enough to fill the space inside that was created for God to fill. He's right behind you, knocking hard on your door.
I read a story this week that I've read before plenty of times. Never before had God used it to tell me quite what He told me this time. It's in John 9, the one about the man who had been born blind. Jesus spat in the dirt, made clay, and rubbed it on the man's eyes, and for the first time in his life, he could see. How can we explain that? Everybody who saw him doubted either the man's identity or Jesus' holiness. They thought it must be some sort of trick, although it was obvious what had happened. They didn't want to believe because it would mean that Jesus is who He says He is, and that would mean their blatent wrongness would be exposed. Isn't that still how things go?
When they rained questions on the fellow, he gave an answer that I really love.
John 9:25, "He answered, 'Whether this Man is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that thought I was blind, now I see.'"
As a Christian, this encourages me. It means that even when we don't understand what's going on, and doubts fall down and pepper our faith, the fact of salvation is ultimately undeniable. Even when there's a question we can't quite answer, or a matter that troubles us, we can look at our God and see the way He is working, never sitting still. We can even look at ourselves and how He has transformed us and say, Although I know nothing else, "one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."
From where I stand, He is undeniable. We can't understand everything, and we shouldn't try to. But the value of faith is to keep us trusting Him because He is trustworthy, even when doubts arise and questions come up, even when we see how little we know. Faith is not to disregard all doubt, but to respond to it by choosing God's faithfulness. At this point, God has simply done too much for us to have good reason to doubt Him. Amazingly, He responds by just doing even more. Have a little faith, and don't give up on a God who would never give up on you.
Leave a comment or a question, and have a miraculous week!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Unconditional
THIS WEEK I am celebrating six years since Jesus saved me. Six years since eternal life began. I've seen that Jesus doesn't take away all the problems we face, but He gives us hope through them. His love keeps us from despair, and His faithfulness keeps us from hopelessness. And He gives us joy in all seasons of life. I am thankful for Him.
Pastor Russ likes to describe life with Jesus as "having Jesus in your boat." Like when His friends had to wake Him up on a storm-tossed boat, and He calmed the sea. He scolded them for weak faith. This is because they should have remembered that when He is on the boat, no matter what things look like, nothing is going to happen to that boat that isn't okay with Him. If it sinks, and He is going down, it's because He decided it should be that way. If He chooses to calm the sea, it's because He prefers it that way. But because we're following Jesus, wherever He goes, we go too, and we need to trust Him in all circumstances.
I was reading Job 6-8 earlier this week. It's one of many parts when Job is complaining, thinking that God doesn't care and that he hasn't done anything wrong against Him, and his friend tries to make him see things differently. He thinks like a lot of us think:
Job 7:20 "If I sin, what do I do against You, You watcher of mankind? Why have You made me Your mark? Why have I become a burden to You?"
At first glance it seems like a good question. If we do things wrong, what does God care? He is all-powerful and owns everything. What is a little sinner to Him? The answer is that He hates the sin that obstructs a relationship with Him. He wants the people.
In Job 8:11-13, Job's friend Bildad responds: "[11] Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish where there is no water? [12] While yet in flower and not cut down, they wither before any other plant. [13] Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless shall perish."
After reading these chapters I noticed something which I think is a major theme in Job's whole story. Because God's nature is independent of our circumstances, our faith in Him should also be independent of our circumstances. In other words, because nothing in our lives can change who He is and what He does, we must keep trusting Him even, and especially, when life gets hard. Like I was saying in a recent post, He understands our situation much better than we do, and He wants us to trust Him even when we don't understand. Because His trustworthiness is unconditional, it is only right that our trust in Him should be unconditional.
Interestingly, my youth pastor discussed this same idea on Wednesday. He used a verse from Proverbs 3 which you might know. I read it to my grandma on Thursday, and she told me that it is probably her favorite verse.
Proverbs 3:5-6 "[5] Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. [6] In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths."
This means that we should trust the Lord unconditionally instead of thinking we're smarter than Him. It means that when we ask for His help, He'll give it, and when we honor Him for who He is, He show who He is.
At church today, once we were done with the Lord's Supper, we rose and sang a special, simple song. It was written by Horatio Spafford after the death of four of his children. It goes, "When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, It is well with my soul."
So don't be discouraged. Whether things look great for you right now, or whether things are truly awful so that you don't want to get out of bed, don't stop trusting God. The strength of our faith shows when we choose to trust Him regardless of our circumstances. And He rewards that trust with the strong and undeniably obvious assurance of His presence, a hand on your shoulder, and peace in your heart, which, I think, is what we all really need.
Pastor Russ likes to describe life with Jesus as "having Jesus in your boat." Like when His friends had to wake Him up on a storm-tossed boat, and He calmed the sea. He scolded them for weak faith. This is because they should have remembered that when He is on the boat, no matter what things look like, nothing is going to happen to that boat that isn't okay with Him. If it sinks, and He is going down, it's because He decided it should be that way. If He chooses to calm the sea, it's because He prefers it that way. But because we're following Jesus, wherever He goes, we go too, and we need to trust Him in all circumstances.
I was reading Job 6-8 earlier this week. It's one of many parts when Job is complaining, thinking that God doesn't care and that he hasn't done anything wrong against Him, and his friend tries to make him see things differently. He thinks like a lot of us think:
Job 7:20 "If I sin, what do I do against You, You watcher of mankind? Why have You made me Your mark? Why have I become a burden to You?"
At first glance it seems like a good question. If we do things wrong, what does God care? He is all-powerful and owns everything. What is a little sinner to Him? The answer is that He hates the sin that obstructs a relationship with Him. He wants the people.
In Job 8:11-13, Job's friend Bildad responds: "[11] Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish where there is no water? [12] While yet in flower and not cut down, they wither before any other plant. [13] Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless shall perish."
After reading these chapters I noticed something which I think is a major theme in Job's whole story. Because God's nature is independent of our circumstances, our faith in Him should also be independent of our circumstances. In other words, because nothing in our lives can change who He is and what He does, we must keep trusting Him even, and especially, when life gets hard. Like I was saying in a recent post, He understands our situation much better than we do, and He wants us to trust Him even when we don't understand. Because His trustworthiness is unconditional, it is only right that our trust in Him should be unconditional.
Interestingly, my youth pastor discussed this same idea on Wednesday. He used a verse from Proverbs 3 which you might know. I read it to my grandma on Thursday, and she told me that it is probably her favorite verse.
Proverbs 3:5-6 "[5] Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. [6] In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths."
This means that we should trust the Lord unconditionally instead of thinking we're smarter than Him. It means that when we ask for His help, He'll give it, and when we honor Him for who He is, He show who He is.
At church today, once we were done with the Lord's Supper, we rose and sang a special, simple song. It was written by Horatio Spafford after the death of four of his children. It goes, "When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, It is well with my soul."
So don't be discouraged. Whether things look great for you right now, or whether things are truly awful so that you don't want to get out of bed, don't stop trusting God. The strength of our faith shows when we choose to trust Him regardless of our circumstances. And He rewards that trust with the strong and undeniably obvious assurance of His presence, a hand on your shoulder, and peace in your heart, which, I think, is what we all really need.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Fireworks
THIS WEEK America celebrated the anniversary of the day the colonies declared their independence, way back in 1776. We celebrate, as my brother points out, by eating lots of meat and blowing things up. In other words, we cook food and light fireworks.
I love fireworks. I love going every year with my family to some spot next to the river to watch the lights rise above the city.
But my dog, on the other hand, does not like fireworks. Every year when we come home from watching them, we find Sugar relieved to see us coming to rescue her. She hears the pops and booms and thinks the world outside is exploding, and it scares her. The sounds make her try to stay as close to us as possible. Sugar slept in my room that night, which made her feel better.
That reminded me of the way it is with us and God. It's not rare that scary things happen to us that make us feel like the sky is surely falling. We don't understand what's going on, and we seek shelter. But just like the fireworks don't scare us, the dangerous parts of life don't scare God. He knows what's going on. He knows that this is just what needs to happen right now, for reasons we just don't understand.
And like Sugar seeks protection in her family, we should seek protection in God. Because no problem is a threat to Him, and He won't let anything bad happen to us that He doesn't think is for the best.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:9 "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
The Bible in many places describes Him as our refuge, our strong tower, our Deliverer, our strength and shield. Among other things, God is our Protector. And if we have given our lives to Him, shouldn't we trust him to take care of our lives properly? It's not easy, but when we trust God with our worries and fears, they get a lot smaller. Mountains turn into mole hills, in a sense. When our trusst is in someone who is bigger than our problems, they no longer have the power to defeat us.
Proverbs 18:10 "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs to it and is safe."
I started a new Bible Study journal this week because I had filled up the last one. It was pretty neat, actually, because the last day in my last journal was the same as the first day I started journaling a year ago. What was on my mind that day was the reason that we read the Bible.
There's no point in reading the Bible if not to seek God. He says that when we seek Him with our whole heart, we will find Him. It's hard to remember that it's not just something to do every day, like a chore. But there's such joy in seeking God in His word if we just seek Him.
Also on my mind that day, because of an old song that popped into my head, was the fact that it's really something to be able to approach God at all. Remember that the people used to worship God in a temple where only the holiest people were allowed near the center, the focus of God's presence. Non-Jews and women, people like me I notice, were furthest out. People also had to make sacrifices of animals and grain to atone for sins. But of course, God wants to be with us. So He made a way for all the walls to come down, so that everyone can rush in at once and be near God. He gave His own self and spilled His own blood to atone not only for sins, but for all sin forever. We should never lose sight of how beautiful it is to be able to be close to God, whoever we are and whatever we do.
This way, we can draw near to God when the fireworks go off and the sky is exploding. Whether it's a big problem or a little one, He cares enough about us to hold us and get us through. I've heard it said, "Don't tell God how big your storm is. Tell the storm how big your God is." I like that, but I think we should do both. Acknowledge the greatness of the problem, and then defeat it by trusting in God, who is much more powerful. I'm just so glad He's listening, and that He cares, aren't you?
As I'm finishing writing this, a storm has come by and lightning is striking. My dog got scared again and has come to sit with me on my couch (where she's not technically allowed to sit). As she trembles uncontrollably, I'll stroke her head and tell her it's alright, until the storm passes. And I'll just sit here and be glad my God does the same for me.
I love fireworks. I love going every year with my family to some spot next to the river to watch the lights rise above the city.
But my dog, on the other hand, does not like fireworks. Every year when we come home from watching them, we find Sugar relieved to see us coming to rescue her. She hears the pops and booms and thinks the world outside is exploding, and it scares her. The sounds make her try to stay as close to us as possible. Sugar slept in my room that night, which made her feel better.
That reminded me of the way it is with us and God. It's not rare that scary things happen to us that make us feel like the sky is surely falling. We don't understand what's going on, and we seek shelter. But just like the fireworks don't scare us, the dangerous parts of life don't scare God. He knows what's going on. He knows that this is just what needs to happen right now, for reasons we just don't understand.
And like Sugar seeks protection in her family, we should seek protection in God. Because no problem is a threat to Him, and He won't let anything bad happen to us that He doesn't think is for the best.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:9 "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
The Bible in many places describes Him as our refuge, our strong tower, our Deliverer, our strength and shield. Among other things, God is our Protector. And if we have given our lives to Him, shouldn't we trust him to take care of our lives properly? It's not easy, but when we trust God with our worries and fears, they get a lot smaller. Mountains turn into mole hills, in a sense. When our trusst is in someone who is bigger than our problems, they no longer have the power to defeat us.
Proverbs 18:10 "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs to it and is safe."
I started a new Bible Study journal this week because I had filled up the last one. It was pretty neat, actually, because the last day in my last journal was the same as the first day I started journaling a year ago. What was on my mind that day was the reason that we read the Bible.
There's no point in reading the Bible if not to seek God. He says that when we seek Him with our whole heart, we will find Him. It's hard to remember that it's not just something to do every day, like a chore. But there's such joy in seeking God in His word if we just seek Him.
Also on my mind that day, because of an old song that popped into my head, was the fact that it's really something to be able to approach God at all. Remember that the people used to worship God in a temple where only the holiest people were allowed near the center, the focus of God's presence. Non-Jews and women, people like me I notice, were furthest out. People also had to make sacrifices of animals and grain to atone for sins. But of course, God wants to be with us. So He made a way for all the walls to come down, so that everyone can rush in at once and be near God. He gave His own self and spilled His own blood to atone not only for sins, but for all sin forever. We should never lose sight of how beautiful it is to be able to be close to God, whoever we are and whatever we do.
This way, we can draw near to God when the fireworks go off and the sky is exploding. Whether it's a big problem or a little one, He cares enough about us to hold us and get us through. I've heard it said, "Don't tell God how big your storm is. Tell the storm how big your God is." I like that, but I think we should do both. Acknowledge the greatness of the problem, and then defeat it by trusting in God, who is much more powerful. I'm just so glad He's listening, and that He cares, aren't you?
As I'm finishing writing this, a storm has come by and lightning is striking. My dog got scared again and has come to sit with me on my couch (where she's not technically allowed to sit). As she trembles uncontrollably, I'll stroke her head and tell her it's alright, until the storm passes. And I'll just sit here and be glad my God does the same for me.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Honoring God
THIS WEEK somebody asked me my favorite question, and I had a great time answering. I was at the Freshman Orientation of my new college, and I checked my phone for texts. Facebook.com had texted me a question that I had received in a message:
"Why do you believe in God?"
Naturally, I was very excited. That person and I communicated on the subject a few times once I returned from Orientation. Today I'm not going to go into discussion about what the evidence is for God. This is partially because there's just too much to talk about, and partially because I right now I want to talk about God Himself.
We are a very special part of God's very special Creation. He has gone to the ends of the earth and spared no expense for each of us. We are the object of His affection and the focus of His love. And He wants us to love Him back, but by our own choice. So He gave us free will.
Isn't it so sad, then, when we use our free will to run away, to deny Him? But we all do it at some point, often even once we're saved. When people do what God would rather we don't, things go wrong.
Romans 1:28 "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done."
Imagine a man, even the biggest, strongest man on earth, standing on top of the highest mountain. Imagine that he's angry at God, for one reason or another, and begins threatening Him and mocking Him. Now take your view of him up to the top of the sky. Doesn't he look so small? And now look at him from the nearest star, and from another galaxy. This man has practically no size. The whole planet is unimaginably tiny.
It's not fair to say God is unfair, because He is merciful toward us who don't deserve mercy. We're so small, and we're the work of His hands. Who are we to criticize Him? Who are we to forget who He is?
Isaiah 29:15-16 "[15] Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, 'Who sees us? Who knows us?' [16] You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, 'He did not make me'; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, 'He has no understanding'?"
Why should God bother with us? Why should He care about a race of creatures who so often seem to pull away from Him? Well, He is love. And love is patient and kind. Love won't give up or change. So He keeps on loving.
And He is mercy. Mercy is not something we earn. It's something we get because we cannot earn it. Grace is by definition undeserved. And we receive it when we realize we can't deserve it.
But mercy is not a license to sin. God forgives the humble and repentant - those who say "I'm sincerely sorry" as well as "I won't do it again."
Romans 2:4 "Or do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?"
I'm glad our God is both just and merciful, both mighty and loving. We honor Him because He is faithful and just. We love Him because He loves us regardless of what we are or what we do.
Romans 4: 7-8 "[7] Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; [8] blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin."
Remember all God has done, and it's not hard to be grateful. Remember who He is, and it's easy to be humble. It's when we are humble and grateful before Him that we are closest to Him, and then it doesn't matter that we're so small.
"Why do you believe in God?"
Naturally, I was very excited. That person and I communicated on the subject a few times once I returned from Orientation. Today I'm not going to go into discussion about what the evidence is for God. This is partially because there's just too much to talk about, and partially because I right now I want to talk about God Himself.
We are a very special part of God's very special Creation. He has gone to the ends of the earth and spared no expense for each of us. We are the object of His affection and the focus of His love. And He wants us to love Him back, but by our own choice. So He gave us free will.
Isn't it so sad, then, when we use our free will to run away, to deny Him? But we all do it at some point, often even once we're saved. When people do what God would rather we don't, things go wrong.
Romans 1:28 "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done."
Imagine a man, even the biggest, strongest man on earth, standing on top of the highest mountain. Imagine that he's angry at God, for one reason or another, and begins threatening Him and mocking Him. Now take your view of him up to the top of the sky. Doesn't he look so small? And now look at him from the nearest star, and from another galaxy. This man has practically no size. The whole planet is unimaginably tiny.
It's not fair to say God is unfair, because He is merciful toward us who don't deserve mercy. We're so small, and we're the work of His hands. Who are we to criticize Him? Who are we to forget who He is?
Isaiah 29:15-16 "[15] Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, 'Who sees us? Who knows us?' [16] You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, 'He did not make me'; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, 'He has no understanding'?"
Why should God bother with us? Why should He care about a race of creatures who so often seem to pull away from Him? Well, He is love. And love is patient and kind. Love won't give up or change. So He keeps on loving.
And He is mercy. Mercy is not something we earn. It's something we get because we cannot earn it. Grace is by definition undeserved. And we receive it when we realize we can't deserve it.
But mercy is not a license to sin. God forgives the humble and repentant - those who say "I'm sincerely sorry" as well as "I won't do it again."
Romans 2:4 "Or do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?"
I'm glad our God is both just and merciful, both mighty and loving. We honor Him because He is faithful and just. We love Him because He loves us regardless of what we are or what we do.
Romans 4: 7-8 "[7] Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; [8] blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin."
Remember all God has done, and it's not hard to be grateful. Remember who He is, and it's easy to be humble. It's when we are humble and grateful before Him that we are closest to Him, and then it doesn't matter that we're so small.
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