We praise God from whom all blessings flow. He is the Giver of all good things. Every good and perfect gift is from above. He strengthens us from the riches of His glory. His blessings are unending; every next breath is from Him. He gives and He gives and He gives. Thank you, God!
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| Even the sunrise is a gift! (picture by me) |
He wants us to come to Him when we are in need, when we struggle, when we are uncertain. He tells us by prayer and petition and with thanksgiving, to present our requests to God. He tells us to cast all our cares upon Him. He tells us to ask, and we shall receive. He blesses us daily more times than we can count.
My Sunday School class begins with praises. What a blessing in fellowship! The women share what God has given them through the week, what He has done for them. We are all encouraged. Our hearts fill with praise for what God does.
For what God does.
But, do we praise Him for who He is?
Because the Bible gives examples after examples of people who've struggled, just regular sinners like you and me. David was homeless as King Saul and his men sought to kill him. Mary was ostracized, pregnant, poor, and became the center of gossip for Nazareth. Paul was in shackles, bruised and cut, not knowing if he was soon to be killed. With what seems like nothing, they praised God for who He is; and in keeping their eyes fixed on God alone, their hearts were filled with all they needed, praising the holy being of God. They found peace. They found fulfillment.
I stepped out of my teaching position in faith of seeing where God directed me. I constantly sought His actions. What was He planning to do in my life? In other words, how was He planning to bless me?
"I stepped out in faith," I'd say. However, it took some time and tears to realize what I did was place myself in the center and ask God to work around me. "Do your thing, God!" Well, He already had, but I wanted more.
I wanted more.
For one thing, I needed a new job. Considering I served the King of Kings, I focused on what God was going to do. In turn, I placed no focus on who God is.
It's similar to a parent-child relationship. If my son calls home from college only when He needs something, giving no care for me or no desire to talk to me and connect, my feelings would be hurt. Instead, he calls to have good conversations. He asks, "What's going on?" He tells me about his day. He shares his feelings. We have a relationship.
God is not a waiter, but we inadvertently turn Him into one. "Yes, I'll have the raise, and a new car, and a good day. Thanks. Amen."
How insulting. Thankfully, His mercies are everlasting, and His anger is slow.
I don't know your struggles, but our family has been in some situations where I felt vulnerable and at a loss for what to do. I have seen a homeless person and have feared being only a step away from his status. Things have been rough. In desperate times, it seems natural for our plea to be "God, DO SOMETHING!" I had fallen in a pigeon-hole of searching for God's actions, not for God. And it's hard to change focus in desperate times.
It's like trying to get a child to look you in the eye when the playground is behind you. So, how do we resituate our focus to who God is and not just on what God does?
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| Scripture wants us to know who God is. (photo by pixabay) |
The simple answer that never fails: it's in the Bible. For example, Psalm 37:4 guides us to "Delight in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart." He never stops working; He sees your dreams; what a mighty God! If we take the last part of the verse off (. . . and He will give you the desires of your heart.), can you be content with just the first part alone? Delight in the LORD. It's enough.
Delighting in God with no expectations recenters God. Because, really, we need to step aside. Jesus preaches in Matthew 6:33 to seek first the kingdom of God. Not the kingdom of you, not good things, not what God can do, but His kingdom. Heaven. Eternity with the Creator. Seeing His face. How will He gaze upon you with love? What will He say? What has He said? Well, take a look. Come and see, knowledge of everything that God is lives in Scripture. Soak in it. Delight in all that God is.
Our Father, who is in heaven, holy be Your name!
Blessed be the name of the LORD!
Bless the LORD, oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!
May you, being rooted and grounded in love, be able to comprehend with all the saints, what is the width and length and depth and height -- to know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3: 18-20)
What is the fullness of God? Meditate on these things.