God can handle it

A friend was upset with another person and told me about it with great angst. I suggested that she tell God what she told me, seeking His face and His comfort. She replied, “I could never talk to God like that. It would be disrespectful.”

I gently reminded her of the psalms and how some of them expressed burdens to God in much stronger language than hers. I don’t know if she realized that her attitude demeaned the Lord. Does He not know our hearts? Isn’t He able to deal with our deepest woes and worries?

Tozer’s words today are worth repeating. He warns his readers to beware of reducing God to theory and intellect. He says when God appears to us as awesome, vast and incomprehensible, then the mind sinks into silence and the heart cries out “O Lord God!” This signifies the difference between theological knowledge and spiritual experience. He tells us to “watch lest we lose the ‘Oh’” from our hearts.”

Another Christian lady keeps telling me I’ve a super-sensitive heart when I pray or speak my burdens with the emotions that I feel. Maybe that sensitivity is the reason her words bother me, but doesn’t God have a burden for the lost, a broken heart for those struggling through life? Isn’t Jesus Christ sensitive and compassionate?

At times, I think I have a hard heart but then read Tozer’s words, “There is real danger that we fall victim to the prophets of poise and the purveyors of tranquility, and our Christianity be reduced to a mere evangelical humanism that is never disturbed about anything nor overcome . . .”

If nothing bothers me, if I cannot pray “Oh God” or express concern for the events in our world, then I am not like this psalmist:

“O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God! For behold, your enemies make an uproar; those who hate you have raised their heads. They lay crafty plans against your people; they consult together against your treasured ones. They say, ‘Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!’  . . . . Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O Lord. Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace, that they may know that you alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.” (Psalm 83:1-4; 16–18)

Who else can I share those concerns with? Who can do something about the hard stuff, the tragedies, the burdens that bother me?

I’ve noticed that whenever my interest in world affairs lags, or my concern for the well-being of others is turned off because I caring is hard on me, then my prayers become rote repetition, requests without any passion. Tozer puts it this way: When the calm listing of requests and the courteous giving of proper thanks take the place of the burdened prayer that finds utterance difficult we should beware the next step, for our direction is surely down whether we know it or not.

^^^^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus, faith in You means a relationship in which Your Spirit lives in me and affects how I think and live. It seems fitting that I should feel what You feel and converse with You as expressed by Your people, both in the OT and the New. May I never reduce You to a CEO where I bring my list of requests as if You are the boss. May I never think You are unapproachable if my words become a strong outpouring of my heart. May I never stop praying, “Oh God.”

Everyone falls short . . .

The New Testament reveals that the OT Laws were not to save anyone but to bring sinners to their knees realizing that we need a Savior. The NT ‘laws’ have the same effect.

For example, the following verse is on the lock screen of my Windows 10 computer. Every day when I turn it on, I am reminded of the underlying reason God has me alive and on this planet:

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Today’s devotional verse says much the same thing:

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17)

In the power of the Holy Spirit, a Christian’s life changes. New attitudes and values alter the way I do things and the reason for which I do them. However, some of what God asks of me is so far out of my reach that my appreciation and need of the Holy Spirit becomes obvious.

Other Christians might find it easier to glorify God than I do, but for me this command immediately throws me on the grace of God. I can no more glorify God than fly to the moon. I need His power to do what He asks of me, even to have the attitude that I am doing it in His name and by His strength.

What does glorifying God look like? For one thing, this question is not for ‘self-inspection.’ As soon as I start looking for evidence of Jesus in me, my eyes are off Him and I’m off course. However, I can be aware of spiritual fruit. That is, when the Holy Spirit is in charge, the evidence shows up with these attitudes:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22–23)

If I’m indifferent, grumpy, anxious, impatient, gruff, and out of control, I can be certain I’m operating in the flesh and not living for the glory of God.

There are other tests, mostly in the same areas but lack of spiritual fruit shows up in behaviors such as gossip, complaining, self-seeking, blatant sin of many kinds, bad language, idolatry, fits of anger, and more. When caught up in these, I certainly do not have the attitudes that produce glory and praise to God. Even if I desire to do it, or try to fake it, I cannot. For that, I need Jesus.

^^^^^^^^

Jesus, faith in You means just that. Keeping Your commands means trusting You for the ability to do things in Your name and glorify God in the process. Being filled with the Spirit is not a zombie-like state nor is it obviously high-flying. It is more like being relaxed, being ‘normal’ and without stress or that inner desire to control everything. I know from observing others that Your people can glorify You by just being themselves, transparent and with humility. Enable me to rejoice in the impossibility yet the possibility of bearing fruit that brings You glory!

When a reorder is in order . . .

A priority list often helps me do the first things first. The problem is deciding what should be first. I’ve a file that helps. It has a graphic-numbering system where the first item is compared to the second one and the most important one is circled. Then that first item is compared to the third, fourth, fifth and so one. When all items are compared with each other, the circled numbers are counted and the items that are the most important will have the high scores. It works as long as “I don’t feel like it” does not start messing with my good intentions.

Habit-forming gurus offer many suggestions. Most of them say to start small and set a deadline. I’ve tried both but procrastination still sets in. Some tasks are easy and some are not. I’ve a spiritual battle with praying, which is a strong priority but easy to replace with something else that does not matter as much but is easier.

However, in reading some web-sites about habits and by reading these verses, God gives me another insight: I sometimes expect too much from myself and need to simplify. The psalmist says:

“I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.” (Psalm 145:1–2)

He had a good habit of praising God every day. That habit became such a great part of his life that he knew he would bless God forever and ever.

As I read that, I thought of my long prayer list and wondered which parts of it would be ‘forever’ prayers. Some are ‘give us this day our daily bread’ prayers. Some are about incidentals like forgiving those who sin against us, which usually does not happen daily but will not be eternal either.

The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. His familiar response, beginning with, “Our Father who art in heaven . . .” are often followed as a prayer in themselves, but He was giving them more an outline. Each part has significance. When I say ‘Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ I could be thinking about messy political situations, someone’s illness, a person lost in sin, and any number of things that need His hand.

As I write this, I think of KISS — keep it simple stupid. God (and my husband) do not approve of me calling myself stupid so in this case, that second S could stand for sidetracked or scattered. I’m also remembering the good advice from Elizabeth Elliot when asked about how she scheduled her time. She said, “I just do the next thing. I always know what it is.”

Knowing the next thing, strange as it may sound, goes with daily praising God. When I slow down to do that, He gives me an understanding of His will for me in all matters of ‘what do I do next?’ It can be the most difficult task on the list, not always but usually. When that tough one is done, the rest seem quick and easy.

This devotional sounds like I’m giving myself a lecture. Maybe, but I’m also hearing the Lord’s soft voice bringing good ideas into an often and woefully scattered mind. I need to simply let myself slow down and praise Him, each day and let that turn into forever and ever.

^^^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, thank You for all that You give me, rebukes included. My heart has been stressed — literally and emotionally. This A-fib makes me tired and being tired makes my list seem much longer. You are showing me that I only need to focus on those things that belong to ‘forever and ever’ and let go of most of the rest.