Thinking Rightly About God...
Tuesday, April 13, 2010 at 4:34PM 
Greetings, Dear Friends!
And to those visiting, I say welcome! I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way. Each month I give away a $10.00 Starbucks gift card to someone who posts on my blog. For the months of March AND April I will give away away a gift card and a couple of copies of my new book, "Growing Grateful Kids" so leave a post, share an insight, bless lots of people, and just maybe you'll win a fun treat this month!
Now on to my topic...
Last week I wrote about an experience my brother and I had when we were little children (please check out last week's post if you haven't already). We were playing a game and got stuck inside a heavy cedar chest. We were in there for an hour. My dad had to break us out of there with a crow bar. When they found us, we were listless. Needless to say, that experience deeply affected both my brother and I.
Today I received the best gift in the mail: a letter from my sister along with the Willow Tree (brand) Keepsake (pictured above). In the letter my sister these beautiful words:
"My prayer for you both is when you think of that traumatic event in that chest, instead of feeling overwhelming fear, or wonder why it ever happened, or just having that pit in your stomach when you think of it...instead of those things, think of these things (look inside the box)."
Inside the box she placed little pieces of paper with the different names of God: Deliverer, Sustainer, Defender, Life Breath, etc.
When I looked at the two little children sitting on top of that chest, I was instantly overwhelmed! Isn't that a picture of how God delivers us? Though the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, God will not let him have the last word.
Today I read from the Gospel of Mark and noticed a couple of different insights. In chapter four I read about the time when Jesus fell asleep in the boat during a storm. I've never noticed this before but when the disciples woke Him up, their first question was not, "Can you do something about this storm?"
No, their question was, "Don't you care that we were about to drown?"
Isn't that the same question that rises up from us when we encounter painful and traumatic experiences? Don't you care, Lord? Where are You? Where were You?
But Jesus responds to them (and us) with another question, "Where is your faith?"
In other words, Jesus is saying, "I'm right here" because He is. He wants us to trust Him even in the scariest of times.
Jesus exhorted His disciples not to be afraid. Then He rebuked the storms and the storms obeyed. And the disciples' response? Read the verse (Mark 4:41):
They were absolutely terrified. "Who is this man?" they asked each other. "Even the wind and waves obey Him!"
Imagine what it was like to be them. Picture Jesus telling them not be afraid. First they were afraid, thinking that He didn't care, then they were terrified of His great power. The Greek translation for the fear described in verse 41 is this: they feared a great fear.
They were afraid of the notion of a disinterested Savior. They were even more terrified at the thought of His overwhelming power. We vacillate in the same way: Does God care for me? Will His supernatural influence overpower and consume me?
After Jesus calmed the storm, they all headed across the lake. Jesus met up with a demonized man (possessed by many demons). The tormented man could not be restrained even with shackles because he could tear them apart. He lived among the tombs. Night and day he would cry out (I'm sure it was a horrifying sound) and cut himself with stones. Imagine this poor man.
Jesus, filled with compassion, delivered this man and restored him fully.
When the towns people gathered around and saw this once-crazed man sitting fully clothed and in his right mind, what was their response? They were afraid! So afraid in fact, they begged the Restorer to leave town. They preferred the comfort of 'what they knew' over knowing a Power that could change them forever.
Imagine that!
If we don't think rightly about the Love of God, we will doubt that He cares, especially when the winds feel stronger than His presence.
If we don't think rightly about the Love of God, we'll be afraid when He moves in power. We'll prefer our captivity to the uncomfortable-glorious process of being set free.
Yes, we the storms will come against us, and yes, God will seem absent at times. But, when the storms rise up and try to tell you they are bigger and stronger than the God you serve, declare this verse at the top of your lungs:
But this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: because of the Lord's GREAT love, WE-ARE-NOT-CONSUMED. His compassions they never fail; His mercies are new every morning; His faithfulness is great (Lamentations 3:21-22).
May we not doubt God's love and care for us when He presence doesn't seem real. And may we not prefer captivity or shrink back from Him when He moves in power. We will not be consumed. We can get close to Him and live, because He loves us.
Isn't that amazing?
Lord, God, help us to think rightly about You! Help us to trust that You are always good, always near, and always a prayer away. Because You love us, we have everything we need! Help us to see Your hand in our past experiences - because You have intervened on our behalf, whether we can see it or not. Help us to see Your hand in our present circumstances - because You are working in our midst, because You love us. And help us to see Your hand as we face our future - because You have a plan to prosper and not to harm us; to give us a hope and a future. You are always with us. Thank you, Lord.
Until next week~
Reader Comments (29)
Thanks for your post! I'm so thankful you're enjoying the 'Growing Grateful Kids' book. I really enjoyed writing that one. :)May God continue to encourage and strengthen you as you read.
Blessings to you!
I absolutely loved what you wrote here: There is no comparison to knowing that we are children of God. Even when we don't feel it we can KNOW it.
Great, great stuff. Bless you, my sister!
You know, that little Willow figurine hit me the same way. I was actually overwhelmed by it. We serve a God who sees us, like you said. Isn't it just wonderful? Bless you. He sees you. He is with you.