Forgiving God

In the last post I talked about separating the actions someone does from him as a person. That will lead the way to "let him off the hook" so you can forgive him of the things he has done against you or the things he did not do that you feel he should have done. Let's take this one step further. What if we did that for God?

Too many Christians are so consumed with focusing on what God DOES for them that they forget to worship Him for who He IS. Maybe it is a time for a "self check" on this. When is the last time you got alone with God WITHOUT a prayer request list and just enjoyed His presence? That is probably a foreign concept to most people, but it is a very important question to pose. Think about any person you love. The closer the relationship, the more the desire to just be with him/her. You really don't need to be entertained; you just want to be with the person. Couples who have been married for years and have a close relationship can simply be together holding hands and not even have to talk to enjoy one another. God is not interested as much in what you can DO for Him as much as He in in just being with you. You reach a deeper level of intimacy with Him when you are more interested in being with Him than you are in what He can DO for you.

Yes, God wants to bless us. In fact, the Bible says that "it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom." (Luke 12:32 KJV) However, what happens when we don't get our prayers answered the way we think they should be answered? What happens if we don't get the job we thought we should have? What if we don't get healed the way we thought it should happen? What if we don't see relationships restored when we think they should? If we don't separate what God does or does not do from Him, we will blame Him and get angry with Him. We get so focused on our situations and "needs" that we forget He sees the bigger picture and knows what is best. We forget that ultimately He has the last word and "He will cause all things to work together for those who love Him and who are called according to His purposes." (Romans 8:28)

We do praise God for what He does for us, but we worship Him for who He is. Don't get stuck in the outer courts just focusing on His deeds. Go on in to the Holy of Holies and worship God for who He is. You will then get all of who He is that includes what He does! Then when you receive His blessings, you will also know His heart. You will start to see the bigger picture and understand why God does or doesn't do things in our ways or timing. You will be like Moses instead of the Children of Israel. The Children of Israel knew God's deeds, but Moses knew His ways. (See Psalm 103:7)

I pray for God's wisdom on how to communicate this truth. I see many people who need to forgive God before they can go on the forgiveness journey and forgive others. WHAT? Forgive God? He hasn't sinned! That's right, but He has allowed things to wound us. It's when we can separate the things God does or does not do from Him that we can release God from the offenses we hold against Him and be free indeed from a root of bitterness that we may not even realize we had. We will then start seeing why He allows hard times and begin to actually thank Him for those trials that burn out all the "dross" of self-centeredness and draw us closer to Him.

Wait on God and be Renewed!

Isaiah 40:28 (NKJV) Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the LORD,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

When we go through "stuff," we often just plain get tired! We tend to get so wrapped up in what is going on around us with the hustle and bustle of everyday life that we forget the source of true and lasting strength. I often ask people who come to me and empty out all their woes, "Where is God in the equation?" I want to ask them the questions found in verse 28 in the passage above.

Nothing takes God by surprise! He is there to give you strength. It is the answer to weariness. To whom does He promise to give the strength? "Those who wait on the LORD." Some people don't want to take the time to do that.

The original Hebrew word for "wait" is "qavah." It means "to wait, look for, hope, expect." According to www.blueletterbible.com, this Hebrew word is an "active participle." Going on to tell about that, it states, "The participle represents an action or condition in its unbroken continuity, and corresponds to the English verb, 'to be' with the present participle. It may be used of present, past or future time." Unbroken continuity...the more you wait on God, the more your strength will be renewed.

Notice how it says that "it may be used of present, past or future time." If trusting in God becomes your lifestyle, you will live with renewed strength! Think about it...if you can think back and remember that you relied on God in the past and that He brought peace and joy even in the midst of trials, it helps you to rely on Him presently. It also helps you to plan on continuing to rely on Him in the future. That, my friend, is where fear and worry are snuffed out! Oh, yes, it's easy to get your focus off of God and lose your peace for a time, but God is so faithful! He is right there where you left Him ready to get you back on track when you turn your focus back to Him.

You will keep [him] in perfect peace, [Whose] mind [is] stayed [on You], Because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)

How do you do that? Spend time with God! Try waking up earlier in the day, taking a break in the middle of the day, or staying up a little later before bed and just spend time with Him...not just with a prayer request list, but just because you want to be with Him. Start thanking Him for His faithfulness. Ask Him what He wants you to do. He may put it on your heart to read and meditate on a passage of scripture. He may want you to journal. He may want you to pray specifically for a situation. He may want you to listen to praise music. Just be led of the Spirit and enjoy experiencing Him! You will start to find that you will know when to say "no" to obligations He does not intend for you to do, and you will have strength to do the things He has planned for you to do. Deep breath! Be refreshed and renewed!

Wilderness of Busyness

5:29. That's what my clock radio said when I woke up just now with the words, "Early will I seek you," running through my head. I have been telling God that I need to invest some time with Him in the morning when there seems to be a halt to all the busyness. There's no time like the present, right? It's actually a present that I can give to God and that He loves.

I went to www.biblegateway.com and found that verse in Psalm 63. Before the Psalm begins, it says, "A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah." That already says a lot to me! Judah represents praise in the Bible. I want my life to praise God. From the rising of the sun until it goes down, I am truly thankful to the Lord, my refuge and strength. But, sometimes--many times--life gets so hectic, I feel like I'm in a wilderness of busyness. So much goes on around me that sometimes the remembrance of God's presence gets lost in the shuffle. As soon as I recognize that, I want to come back to sit at His feet!

Psalm 63:1-5
O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.

3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
4 Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

Join me today as we just pause and reflect on God's mercies that are new for us this very morning. As we seek Him, He will see to it that everything else will be taken care of. What security! What satisfaction!