"Remember Who God is..."
"Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers." 3 John 1:2 (KJV)
In life we have struggles. Defeat abounds at every corner. Our sin overwhelms us. People just make us mad and get on our nerves sometimes. We do one dumb thing after another - same mistake after another; it's like a bad movie, same scene different setting.
Ah, it can be frustrating living, can't it?You know, I saw a little excerpt on the T.V. with my husband the other day. A well-known psychologist, and I'm sure you will all have heard of him if I gave his name, was saying, "When things are happening and going down remember who you are - think of all your great qualities."
Well, afterward my husband and I talked over his comment. It made a lot of sense, but....
My husband's comment came down to, "I don't like that guy much." This is a typical "guy" response.
My comment, "Hmm, something about what he said bothered me and it's sad that a human being can gather such a following without a bit of Christ expounded through any of his teaching. He has been placed on a pedestal in today's society... and then, I agreed with my husband, 'yeah, I don't like him much, either.'" This is a typical female response, much wordier, since we women talk around three times more than men on average in a day - but, that's a whole 'nother study.
Well, later I had been praying and something popped into my head as I drank my coffee and finished off a low-carb sausage wrap - wow, remember Who God is - not who we are, not who you are. That is what was bothering me after hearing this best-selling psychologist.
Our position in Christ is what makes us secure. When all trouble beckons us to defeat and to call it quits, what sustains us? It's not who we are, but in remembering who He is. Our rock, our foundation, our Lord, Who is He?
When the early church formed amid persecution, in the Spirit they cried out, remembering Who their God is:
Acts 4:24 (NASB) "And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, "O Lord, it is Thou who DIDST MAKE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM."
25 "who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Thy servant, didst say, WHY DID THE GENTILES RAGE, AND THE PEOPLES DEVISE FUTILE THINGS?
26 "THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TOOK THEIR STAND, AND THE RULERS WERE GATHERED TOGETHER AGAINST THE LORD, AND AGAINST HIS CHRIST."
And then:
Acts 4:31 "And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the word of God with boldness."
(That was quite a Bible meeting!
)Whenever David struggled what were his Psalms filled with? In the Psalms written by David you will find one after another remembrance and affirmation of Who his God is:
Psalms 8:1 "O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Thy Name in all the earth, Who hast displayed Thy splendor above the heavens!"
Psalms 18:1-2 "I love Thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."
Psalms 33:6-9 "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast."
Psalms 103:2-5 "Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities; Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit; Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; Who satisfied your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle."
I could go on; but, I'll stop at chapter 103, threre are so many more. I'm swooning over those last two...
It's worth a read sometime to just go one Psalm at a time.Then there is Job. He was at the end of his rope and then what happened? He remembered Who God is and God told him and reminded him who He was. Read the end of the Book of Job and see (too long for me to write it out here).
Christ told the disciples, "I AM." No profounder statement has ever been made. It's like it's all wrapped up in those two words; which are basically, "I'm all you need. I am everything. I AM"
It caused the guards who had come to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane to fall to their knees instantly. John 18:6 (NASB) "When therefore He said to them, "I AM," they drew back, and fell to the ground."
Wow, I can hardly wait to go to Heaven and hear Him say that, "I AM." It sends shivers down your spine, don't it?
So many times we forget who stands before us at the right hand of God - the great I AM. He is our deliverer. He is our life-giver. He is our Lord. He is the One Who will sustain you through the difficult times. He is the One Who has only the best in store for you. He is the One Who will bring you out of the storm. He is the One Who gave His life for you. He is the One Who loved you with an unfathomable love. He is the One Who created you. He is the One Who knows every hair on your head. He is the One that sent you a comforter. He is the One Who allowed you to have every benefit He bestowed on the Son. He is the One Who enjoys fellowship with you. He is the One Who wants you more than any person out there. He is the One Who has plans for your life to bless you, not hurt you. He is the One Who loves you more than life itself - Christ is this testimony and fulfillment.
You are precious to Him; thus, remember Who God is when you struggle. Defeat is not in His vocabulary and it shouldn't be in yours.
