“Who is like You among the gods, O Lord – glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders?” (Exodus 15:11 NLT)
How do you view God? Do you love Him? Need Him? Don’t understand Him? Couldn’t care less about Him? Have no opinion about Him? Question Him? Doubt Him? Fear Him?
The range of views as to who God is or if He even exists is broad, but none of that matters in the end. The only person’s opinion that matters when we stand before Him at the end of time is yours. Why? Because who we are, what we do, how we conduct the affairs of our lives is ultimately based on what we conclude about who God is for ourselves.
For many, if not most of the people of the world, He’s a profane expression or we cry out His Holy Name in desperation or anger. He’s only an ever-present reality in the hearts and minds of the few who take the time and make the effort to recognize His grandeur, greatness, splendor, excellence, and beauty for themselves. Is that you?
Unfortunately, even for many professing believers He’s little more than “useful” in times of need. God our Father is little more than the proverbial “Genie in the bottle” that we summon when it’s necessary or convenient for us. We blurt out, “Oh, God!” when bad news comes, or we face a crisis that is beyond our own ability to cope.
Why is it that as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we don’t consistently and as a matter of reflex, habitually turn to the Lord every second of every day? Do we so quickly forget that “apart from Him we are nothing?” That “apart from Him we can do nothing?” We have our being in Him; apart from Him we wouldn’t exist, yet, we have the audacity to ignore Him as though He were a napkin we could use as an adornment or to clean up our messes.
David Platt challenges us when he writes: “Do we find God useful for our circumstances or do we find Him glorious regardless of circumstances?” For me, I’m not sure it’s either/or, but both/and. When He’s our Lord and King, He guides us in EVERY circumstance of our lives. He’s useful in the sense that He’s always with us, guiding, instructing, teaching, helping, sustaining, strengthening, informing us in every detail of our existence.
But He’s also glorious in every circumstance! Always worthy of honor, worship, adoration, praise, glory, and absolute devotion. I’m in awe of the fact that regardless of how many years we follow Him there is always something new He teaches us about Himself. His patience, kindness, forgiveness, forbearance, gentleness, as well as His incomprehensible love.
What a gift He gives us in the security of His care. To feel safe in His comforting arms wherever we are or under whatever circumstance. In a similar way as we ran to our loving parent with the smallest little nick or scratch, we can take whatever care we have, small or large, and He assures us with His gentle touch and soothing voice of care.
If we profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and do not hold His (our) Heavenly Father as Glorious in every circumstance, we don’t know Jesus as well as we need to.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 