Trying to rule the Ruler, and thinking we deserve better......dumb!

Sometimes I find myself saying, "God. This should not happen. Please don't let it. It's gonna be awful!" Why do I do that? Doesn't God know what's gonna happen before it does? Doesn't He know that PERFECT plan for our lives? We have no right to act like even know squat. God is all powerful, all knowing....we are so finite and....plain stupid.

I would have to say that my favorite Psalm is chapter 139. It's so incredible to think about God knowing me. It's scary, comforting, and incomprehensible all at the same time.

(Verses 1-6)
"O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it."

Ponder this for a moment. How does He do it? The Savior of ALL THE WORLD knows me better than I know myself. And it's not just me that He knows....He knows ALL of us. That is so incredible.

(verses 7-12)
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

This is so cool because it shows how God will never leave us. Literally never. It's hard for me to grasp that, because sometimes I feel so alone, but I'm not. Hebrews 13:5 says "I will never leave you or forsake you." God always keeps His promises. When He says never, he means it.

This part is also amazing to me because it portrays Christ as the Light that He really is. Even the darkness is as light to Him. When there is darkness and sin clouding our view and we think we are hidden in it....no. God sees just as clearly. Scary huh?

(verses 13-16)
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. [1]
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

This last part is what inspired me to write this whole post. (I started rambling and forgot about it till just now) "Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." (vs 16) GOD KNOWS WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO US. He knows no surprises. Something bad will come up and I will get annoyed and feel like God is not controlling the situation like I would want Him too. What type of thought is that? Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." The plans are not meant to harm me. He said so Himself. His plans are for my GOOD. I love this verse: "More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." (Romans 5:3-5) It just reminds me that the Christian life isn't all about smiles and laughter. There will be suffering, but God will bring us through it, and we will come out stronger than before if we look to Christ and allow Him to refine us.

(verses 17-18)
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.

This is beautiful. I'm am a sinner. I'm rotten and filthy. My filth and grime is a reflection of my disgusting heart. Nothing about me is good outside of Christ. But yet, a perfect Savior, spotless and flawless, looks at me and says, "My child." He thinks of me so many times that if I were to count them, they would be far more than the grains of sand. How can this be? Why is such a perfect God interesting in.... ME? I'm not worthy. HE IS WORTHY off all my praise and affection. Nothing should distract me from Him. Why would I love anything/one more?

To start finishing this up. I just want to say, let's remember who God is (what a small view we have of Him) and let's dwell on HIS plan! Not my plan. Compared to the life He has cut out for me.....my vision of "my amazing future" is L.A.M.E. We need to seek the Lord's hand in our life. It will bring forth a deep "Thank you" and a growing desire to do what He wants us to do. We also must stop thinking that our life sucks when really, if we got what we deserved....we would be in hell. God is gracious and loves us with an unconditional love. Nothing happens to us that has not been filtered through His fingers.

A God who knows everything about us, loves us, and thinks about us ALOT....let's live everyday for Him, rejoicing in His plan for our lives, and living a life of gratitude for what He has done.

I'll close with two quotes (*squeals* I love quotes!)

"If we would view through eyes of faith the course of each new day, we'd quickly see God's gracious hand in all that comes our way."

"If you know that God's hand is in everything, you can leave everything in God's hands."

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Botox...

Got Botox? A lot of people do. Very seldom do people get Botox for health reasons...most of the time it's to make them look better, and younger. Botulinum toxin type A is injected into the face to get rid of wrinkles (for a while). Botox is very expensive and has possible side effects, but that doesn't stop people from getting them. Appearance is SO important these days. People will do WHATEVER they think is necessary to make themselves look better.

Outward appearance is not a bad thing to think about. It IS important to a certain extent, but the real question is, "How do we look on the inside?" How much are willing to sacrifice to have a beautiful heart? Are we willing to inject ourselves with nothing but good, so that our heart reflects the love of Christ? What would that look like to you? Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Let's take some "Botox for the soul" and inject ourselves with loving gentleness, merciful patience, caring interest in others, unselfish kindness, and unity of spirit that can beautify our lives. "Assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."(Ephesians 4:21-24)Now, this is not something we can master all at once. Putting off our "old self" is something that we do continuously. Sin is our nature and one final act will not irradiate it forever. But every moment of the day, we must put off the old, and put on the new. (I will be talking more about this in an upcoming post. I have been reading up on sin and the nature of it....so check back in a couple of days.)

Looking for ways to look good? Search the Bible for character-building verses. Through prayer and the Spirit's empowering, inject the godly traits of those verses into your life. The side effects are all good.

Think not alone of outward form;
It's beauty will depart;
But cultivate the Spirit's fruits
That grow within the heart. -D. De Haan

Godly character is the best beauty treatment in the world!