More…
Posted by Sandy in Blessed Life, Experiencing God, Frustration, God's Love, Love, Wonders of God, worship, tags: RevelationI laid in bed for more than half an hour before getting up this morning. I was frustrated with someone. Frustrated at what they were doing. Frustrated at what they were not doing. They just weren’t doing what they were supposed to be doing!
Oh, my, that sounds so arrogant when I actually put it on paper! It didn’t sound so arrogant in my mind earlier this morning. It sounded right! But of course it wasn’t right – it was arrogant. And even if what I think should be done is correct, I am wrong in my response to the situation.
That’s not to say I wasn’t praying in the midst of my frustration fretting…but each sentence prayer led to more frustrated fretting. I’m guessing you’ve been in my situation before. Ten minutes of frustrated fretting, a sentence prayer – maybe even two sentences – and I’m back to fretting.
I’ve been dealing with this issue for awhile and I’ve been trusting God…but this morning frustration was getting the best of me.
Finally I got out of bed and sat with my cup of tea and piece of toast and began to read my Bible. Our Resting at the River’s Edge reading schedule has us in Revelations and I was enjoying it so much a read a head a few chapters. (I love it when that happens.) I came to these verses:
13 And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang:
“Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.”
14 And the four living beings said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb.
Revelation 5:13-14 (NLT)
Oh, Lord! Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to You! “And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb.”
I spent more than half an hour fretting in frustration this morning when I could have been worshiping the Lamb! What a waste of precious time!
I serve a God who is infinitely worthy of my worship. All blessing and honor and glory and power belong to Him. He is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. He existed before anything else existed. He created all things. He holds them together. He will exist when all that I know (except Him) has passed away. He is the eternal, all loving, all knowing, all powerful God. And still He is my friend. I spend time fretting in frustration. And He is my friend. I make wrong choices. And He is my friend. Whether I have a great day or a horrible one…He is still my friend. My Friend who loves and saves and empowers. My Savior who gives peace and joy and healing. My God who is worthy of all my worship. My God who is worth more than I can ever pay.
In our early marriage, I found a card to give to my husband (or maybe he gave it to me – I’m not really sure anymore). “I love you…” was written on the front; on the inside it read “More than I could ever say, more than you could ever know.” Isn’t that the absolute perfect card? It said (and says) everything about our love. We’ve been married more than thirty years (thank You, thank You, thank You, Lord!) and we still quote the card to one another.
The card’s message is even more appropriate between my God and me. He loves me more than He could ever say, more than I could ever know. Is anything impossible for God? Does He love more than He could ever say? Well, I won’t contradict Scripture…but… He can say it and He has, but we won’t fully comprehend that love until we are in eternity with Him. So perhaps the message changes for Him “I love you…More than I can say to you while you are in this physical body; more than you will know until you are in eternity with Me.” But that’s a bit awkward. (You think?) I’m OK with the shorthand version, knowing that my God loves me more…
And I love Him more than I could ever say (in this life) and more than He’ll ever know – but He does know! He knows how much I love Him more than I know and can express! OK, the sappy card doesn’t apply in this situation either. But again, I’m OK with the sentiment – He loves me and I love Him more than can be adequately expressed, more than can be accurately perceived. More…
Worshiping the One who is worthy, loving the One who is worthy – it’s way better than fretting.
Entries (RSS)
In the midst of any difficulty, we just simply need to “be still.” We can’t “be still” if we’re fretting about whether we’re doing right or wrong by the convictions that God has instilled in our hearts. We can’t “be still” if we revel in anger, bitterness or frustration. We can’t “be still” unless we “know” that He is God, which brings us to the second part of that statement. Notice, the text doesn’t say to “know God,” but “know that I am God.” Knowing that He is God is significant because just knowing that He is God should instill peace in our hearts. Knowing that He is God means that we also know that He is in control and that He loves us, extends His grace and mercy. As Paul stated; His grace is sufficient. It absolutely is. Knowing that He is God, takes the pressure off of our shoulders to be in control and allows God to take over.