Hey everyone! I have had a tremendous week. God apparently wasn’t finished with my previous blog… Last time, I shared with you all what God has been teaching me in the midst of this time of growth in my life: that confounded word we call “patience.” Well, consider this blog to be the sequel to that message…
After writing the blog, I really felt convicted. By that, I mean I knew that I had to live out the words and not just write them! I felt God whisper to me, “Alyssa, as long as you’re here, I need you to really be here.” I had to commit to being here. How many people out there know that you can be waiting patiently for something and, in the midst of it all, completely lose the place wherein you find yourself waiting? For example, if we go back to the dentist’s office, you can be so busy waiting for your appointment that you are completely oblivious to everyone else in the waiting room. Right? Well, God was convicting me of doing just that.
What do you suppose my response was? “Oh, yes, Lord, may it be! Oh, might we read the Holy Book with our neighbors?!” Are you kidding me? Like a beacon of righteousness, here was my prayer: “OK God, but I want furniture. I can’t feel like I’m committed here if my house is completely empty and I’m still sitting on tile floor to practice my guitar.” Wow. I know, guys—my spirituality is so flawless it can be rather suffocating at times. Haha! Now, here comes the interesting part: What do you think God’s response was?
Your answer to this question will reveal much about the God you worship. In one of my daily readings from this week, I found the most fascinating scripture. In the midst of the story of Israel’s downfall under a series of wicked kings, the Holy Spirit left a commentary on what was really happening to the people: “They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless” (from 2 Kings 17:15). In other words, the people became like the object of their worship. Their idols were useless and could do nothing to save them from attacking armies; likewise, the Israelites found themselves completely outmanned in battle. They served gods of sexual immorality and drunkenness—what do you think became their new favorite pastimes? At base level, the image of God you carry will define who you are. You will without fail become like whatever god it is that you worship. Have you ever noticed that people who worship money—greed—seem to spend the majority of their time preoccupied and anxious about their perceived wealth? It makes sense: if your god is the Hoarder, the One Who Must Possess All of the Wealth, then your anxiety about whether or not you have enough wealth is the appropriate act of worship. Am I making sense here?
So I ask you again, what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of someone like Yours Truly here asking God for furniture?
I can tell you mine… I thought, Well, I know that nothing is too small or big for you, but… and I came up with justifications for why God might not want me to have any furniture right now. I’m just being honest with you here. Do you serve a God who gives gifts to His children? In Matthew chapter 6, we read, “’But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’” Now, I know that you know that I know that you know that this verse follows Jesus’ commentary on clothing, food and all that “basic stuff”—but how often to we read this and believe that the provision being promised is somehow still spiritual? Do you really believe that God will give you clothing? Do you, at your gut level, worship a God who knows what size pants you wear and what your favorite color is? Think about that one for a second.
We are so quick to get lost in some mystical world of seeking the “kingdom” and “righteousness”—both of which are words that are horribly misunderstood by the Church today—that we shove God’s provision into some strange Never Never Land where we claim to believe that He’s going to take care of us, but we also have a thousand ready-made excuses if He doesn’t. Let me take a moment and show you what that “god” looks like: He’s distant, and if He ever figures out that you’re in need, He’ll be so frustrated about having to get off the couch and hand you your pittance for the week that He’ll probably make the Holy Spirit remind you that Jesus died for your sins in a desperate attempt to guilt trip you into not asking for anything ever again. Am I ringing any bells here? How many people feel like you shouldn’t ask God for physical things because He’s a Spirit—that is, he doesn’t really care about your physical needs because he wants you to have “spiritual” things. How many people also know that you can’t eat righteousness and you cannot wear patience? You can be a naked, hungry and “holy” person, can you not? Why are we so afraid to take God at His word?
That Scripture verse I just mentioned says “ALL THESE THINGS” will be given. It doesn’t say, “only holy things,” or “once you’ve one-upped Billy Graham,” or “only if you ask for things without really wanting them because you don’t think you’re allowed to have them so neither of us is really sure why you’re bothering to ask.” It says plainly, “all these things” will be given when you will “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness”. That is, give God the first priority in your life and you won’t have to worry about anything—ever! It doesn’t say “once you’ve found and obtained righteousness” or “once you’re a perfect citizen of the kingdom.” Jesus was talking to uneducated fisherman and a lot of rather plain people when he spoke. These weren’t monks secluded in the mountains or pastors with a full staff of people. These were men and women who were going to have to go about their day like everyone else, whose hands were tired when they got home from work, and who were hungry at lunch time.
Now, let me tell you the Truth. Let me tell you how my God responded to my prayer. Whoever we may think we worship, only God is God. He is faithful and true, and He loves His children and wants to provide for their every need.
The other day, I showed up at my house and found a man with an entire truckload of furniture waiting. “These are for you,” was what he told me. I had never seen that guy before in my life. After everything was loaded into the house, he took a look around and said, “You know, I’ve got some more furniture back at my shop. I’ll be back in a minute.” I only half believed him. I was still pretty stunned at the desk, sofa, and two chairs he had just loaded into my house. Well, the guy did come back—with a leather living room set! Good grief! I have a fully furnished house, the unspeakable blessing of my Father. God is not merely interested in the “spiritual stuff.” He wants to provide everything for you. God wants to take care of you. He longs to be compassionate toward you. I have a living room set to prove it! That was no coincidence. It was not just “my luck.” He sent some person I’d never met to my door to deliver furniture just because God loves me.
Again, ask yourself: Who do I worship? Often, your knee-jerk reaction in hard times will reveal this more clearly than anything. When you suddenly find yourself in great need, what thoughts come to your mind about the character of God? I can tell you that if you worship anyone other than the God who revealed himself in the Word, there will be some obvious indicators: anxiety, fear, anger, bitterness… perhaps statements like, “Oh, great, now this,” or “with my luck, it’ll only get worse.” Remember: we become like whatever we worship. What if sudden crises were met with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control? If you serve the Prince of Peace, is anxiety an appropriate offering? If you serve the God who is Love, does fear have any place in your heart? You will worship something; humanity is hard-wired to worship. What do we worship with bitterness? With hopelessness? To whom are we bringing an offering of anger? I will tell you that those offerings aren’t going to our Lord and Savior.
Now let me take a moment to declare that I don’t have this all figured out! I am no more perfect at this than anyone. If you have read this and thought, “Man, God just does crazy things for her. I wish He would give me what I need,” then I will have utterly failed. My prayer with this blog is that you will begin to question the deepest parts of your spirit. I pray that the Spirit will stir inside of you a longing for a deeper revelation of Himself. Don’t read the Bible trying to “figure God out”—read it asking God to reveal Himself to you as only He can know Himself to be. I’m sure all of us need to repent of becoming like the worthless things we worship, but that’s not the point here. God wants you to know who He really is; He wants you to learn to worship Him. You can’t be like God if you aren’t worshiping Him.
There is power in what God’s children declare. If you declare Truth in situations (i.e., “God will provide my every need,” or “God will bless me today no matter what I may be seeing right now,”), you change everything and eternity will feel the ripple effect. In the same way, if you hold on to your current mindset and declare lies, you will also change everything. Who are you worshiping when you roll out of bed and say, “Today is going to suck”? To whose altar are you bringing the offering of “I’ll never get out of this one”? Who is edified by your anxiety? Have you ever noticed how when you say, “This ________ will just never change,” it never changes? That’s not a coincidence. That’s the fruit of a declaration made in the power of a child of God.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, let us keep our minds set on the true God. Not as we know Him, but as He knows Himself to be. Let us speak Truth into this world and, in the mosaic of words we create each day, let us create beauty and not destroy it. Let us become more like God by worshipping him. Let us take Him at His word and believe that He really will come through for us—for anything from furniture to rent money to gas for the car.
God bless!
"another fine bit of writing brought to you by yours truly"
No comments:
Post a Comment