Wake Up to Worship: God Is Not a Puppet or Vending Machine
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14)
Things happen in each of our lives that cause us to question God. I’ve been there. I get that.
After all, our flesh hurts. This world is hard. We don’t understand the pain.
Don’t Expect God to Make Sense
But as I study Scripture and learn to lean more on the Lord, I’m becoming increasingly ashamed at how quickly we lose faith in His greatness and goodness.
How quickly we turn away from Him when He no longer seems to meet our needs or desires.
We thank Him for healing one day and then berate Him for our pain the next.
Like the Israelites of old, we prostitute ourselves with idols: entertainment, money, health, stuff. The list is endless. Yet we still feel entitled to His blessings.
We expect Him to pave a smooth path for us, yet we only give a fleeting thought to the majesty and glory of His nature.
We try to make the Lord fit a certain mold, to act in a way that makes sense to us.
Wake Up To Worship!
But who are we kidding? Let’s wake up! God owes us nothing, but damnation … but for His grace.
God, the great I AM, the One who was and is and is to come is perfectly Holy and Just and Loving and Faithful and Good and Kind and Righteous. He is infinitely perfect in every way.
He is over all, in all, and through all. All things come from Him. He is all in all!
God, the great I AM, is over all, in all, and through all. All things come from Him. He is worthy of all our worship Share on X
“For us there is one God, the Father. All things are from Him, and we exist for Him. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ. All things are through Him, and we exist through Him.” 1 Corinthians 8:6
How could we ever hope to understand? How can we expect Him to answer to us? How dare we expect His grace and mercy while ignoring His divinity, His majesty, His holiness, His justice, His greatness!
God Is Not a Puppet
Yes, the great God we serve is loving and faithful. That’s why He has been (and continues to be) so long-suffering with us.
We should be falling to our knees in the face of His mercy and patience! Yet we take it for granted.
We continue to demand. We continue to prostitute ourselves with idols. We continue to take His grace lightly and laugh in the face of His mercy.
Even in many of our churches, we sing of His love and ignore His holiness and righteousness.
We continue to view Him as our puppet God. Pull one string and He’ll deliver; tuck Him away when we are done with Him.
Treading On Holy Ground
My friends, see your God! Open your eyes and see His holiness, His majesty, His power! Fall to your knees in awe and fear and reverence. He is worthy of all our worship.
See your God...His holiness, His majesty, His power! Fall to your knees in awe and fear and reverence. Share on X
Go to Him with your needs, your heartache, your pain, yes! Jesus died to create such a relationship where we can enter His presence.
But never, ever forget you are treading on Holy ground as you do.
Lord,
Your greatness is unfathomable. How dare we think we can understand Your ways or dictate how You should respond to our needs.
Forgive us, dear Lord. Continue to grant us your mercy.
To You be all glory and honor and praise, forever and ever.
Amen!
“Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.” 1 Chronicles 29:11
Reflections: Do you lack a sense of the majesty and power of God? Do you see Him more as a vending machine God than the majestic, supreme Lord? May I suggest you cultivate a heart of worship by soaking in the Psalms and Old Testament passages (Isaiah is a great book to read for this purpose) that speak to His majestic character as well some of the good old church hymns.
Closing in on 4 years of counting and I’ve surpassed 4,000 gifts in Ann Voskamp’s Joy Dare! What a blessing! Here are numbers #4,143–4,163. Read my entire list by clicking here.
- Lord’s mercies that got my boys to college and me back home safely; Too-funny roadtrip lunch with Dan and Zach; Lights on welcoming me home
- Watching a lone Monarch butterfly drift with the breeze; Organizing school supply/art cabinet: beginning of fall cleaning; My little miss imitator deciding to mimic my every move
- Watching the interaction of bee and dog (neither was hurt); Taking the time to send cards of encouragement; Chorus of owls
- Received my first-ever wireless speakers for a penny – now we can have music throughout the house!; Dancing with Rach to Go Fish songs; Peaches from our very own tree – yum!
- A rainy day filled with ups and downs and graced with plentiful blessings: Turkey interrupting my morning walk/jog; A Friday night chased inside by rain; Treasured hour of reading aloud with Joey and Rachel
- Everyday gifts that speak of abundance, love and beauty: Traipsing through our land picking wild plums, grapes & hazelnuts; The sight of bugs drawing sweetness from golden flowers; Rachel’s kisses catching me across the room
- First check-in with the college boys and all is well; Sunday stroll with Rachel; Receiving kind words that mean so much to this mama’s heart
By His Grace,
Julie
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Hello, I'm Julie, an imperfect wife and mother of four. Life in this broken world is not always easy. Yet, joy can be found in each day through the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I find it's easy for our day's blessings to get lost in its happenings. But God's "mercies never end" (Lamentations 3:22) and His "grace is sufficient" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
May the posts and pages on this site offer you a measure of peace and encouragement.
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Wow what a wonderful post Julie, I often say (and remind myself) Jesus is not my fix-it-man he is my redeemer. Several months back I did a post on the Shock and Awe of God – John states in Revelation that when he entered the throne room of God he fell down like a dead man? – I don’t think I respond to God or have a clue about who he really is.
I’m certain none of us really know the depth and breadth of our Lord, Jon. But the more we sit with His Word, the more we can appreciate His supremacy.
Amen!!!!!
Today your words hit me like God threw the fastball. I was having a hard time understanding WHY about something I wanted and did not receive. How could I forget how great thou art? Thank you Julie , it still resonates deepest heartache, but you have given me reason to pause…..
Dear Marianne, I’m so sorry for your heartache. The pain is real, and God knows that. But we must never question or forget about His sovereignty over our lives. His love, goodness, justice, holiness,…
His grace is at work in your life and mine as I type. May we never lose our sense of reverence and awe over His great wonder that we’ll never fully comprehend.
Your words here give me a lot to ponder. Sometimes we trivialize Him and we shouldn’t. When we weaken God, we commit blasphemy. We have to remember that we are His guests when we go before Him.
He wants us to ask….I just cannot see if He wants me to wait or is just saying know. I pray and thank Him daily … I am at a loss of what else to do
I meant no.
That can be difficult to discern, Marianne. So just take the step that is in front of you. Don’t force it, but move into what is unfolding at the time. It may be there is nothing to do but wait and pray, but eventually another step will be illuminated. Be ready to step into that.
Pondering myself with this post, Cecelia. It saddens me so to see that trivialization.
It saddens me also. I hear and see it every day. I may also without thinking do that.
I think we all slip on occasion, Marianne. The key is to recognize it, so we can repent.