In Every Heart...
Tuesday, 27 Aug 2003
Psalm 46:10
Be still and...
...and what? What is God really telling us in the second half of that verse? Is He telling us that He IS God? Or is He telling us that if we will only be still, we will KNOW that He is God.
Be still and know...
In our stillness, will we know that He is God?
In our busy-ness, do we forget?
Be still and know that I am God...
Take a deep breath, let it out slowly, and be still for a few moments.
Focus on our Father in heaven in that stillness...do you find Him there?
Do you KNOW that He is God?
Does He really have to tell you, when you are still, who He is?
Be still and know that I am God.
Is it really that simple?
Why shouldn't it be? If God is our Creator and we know Him instinctively, does
it seem so impossible that just by being still--or as some translations say,
by being silent--we will recognize the One who made us? Is that why the world
keeps running so fast? Faster and faster each day? Are we running from what we
instinctively know because we refuse to believe it?
Visiting with my brother, Rick, and his wife the other evening, he shared a song with us. One he had written from the verses in Romans 1, starting around verse 18. As he played the piano and sang this song to us, it was so direct, so full of truth and so convicting, all at the same time. Most worship songs we listen to are about God, about His love in our lives, about his compassion and His forgiveness. Rarely have I heard one as my brother sang to us. It was Jesus, talking to us. Telling us things we know so well and yet refuse to believe. Telling us things we may not want to hear, but need to because when we read these words, we are used to them. They perhaps have become commonplace and we can read through them quickly enough to actually miss them. But when they are sung to us, and we can picture Jesus singing them out of His heart, they become much more real.
As it starts in verse 18, God will show his anger at those who push away the truth from themselves. Verse 19, the truth is known instinctively. God put this knowledge in our hearts. Verse 20 talks about clearly seeing his invisible qualities and having no excuse for not knowing God, and yet verse 21 talks about not even worshipping him or giving him thanks and instead thinking up foolish ideas of what God is like.
Paul wrote these verses to the Romans, but what if Jesus were saying them to
you, as my brother sang them to us in this song?
Try it again this way:
I will show my anger at you if you push the truth away from yourself.
My truth is known instinctively, there will be no excuses, it is in your heart.
You can see me even though I am invisible.
Stop with all the foolish ideas of what you think I'm like, and worship me.
Thank me.
Further down in verse 32 is says:
They are fully aware of God's death penalty for
those who do these things, yet they go right ahead
and do them anyway. And worse yet, they
encourage others to do them, too.
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I hope someday you will hear this song. I hope that God's plans for my brother include his worship music being put on CD's and the radio and all that that entails, because he is bold and he is passionate about serving God in this way. There is a season for all things, and perhaps his season for this is coming. I believe God can use him in a mighty way because I know that God is looking for those who are passionate about Him and are obedient to His call on their lives. I believe my brother is one of those who will follow wherever he is led by his Father in heaven and we can use songs that speak so directly to our hearts that perhaps we squirm just a little. Songs that aren't just words on a screen or a beautiful melody, but songs that make us think a bit deeper about where we are and what we are doing in our relationship with the Savior of the world.
Is He so invisible that we really can't see Him? Verse 20 in Romans one says:
They can clearly see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine
nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God.
It reminds me of a time we were at Tahoe and we had stopped at the beautiful cove there on the lake, looking down into the greenish-blue, clear water. Everyone who had stopped was ohhing and ahhing over the beauty before our eyes. It has clearly been a renowned place for many years because they have created a parking lot there so that all can stop and take a look. What was everyone thinking as they gazed upon such splendor? Was there thankfulness in our hearts for the Creator of this work of art? Or had we dismissed Him somewhere along the way?
So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator
himself, who is to be praised forever. Amen.
Romans 1:25b
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Can you imagine standing and looking at a beautiful painting and praising the work done, but not caring who had painted it? Whose signature was down in the corner, giving that person no credit at all? There is no way we would ever think that this work of art, this painting, had simply taken shape on its own--painted itself, placed itself in this frame and hung itself up on the wall. We know that someone's hands were involved in this creation, and yet we refuse to believe that Someone's hands created what's before our eyes each day we live? Oh, it just happened. There was this big explosion, and whoosh, the world came into being, it hung itself in this universe, placed the "nail" in the perfect spot on the wall of space to be just the right distance from the sun so as not to burn up but close enough to stay warm. That every lake and every tree and every mountain painted themselves into the landscape of the world and for some reason didn't end up just the color of mud, but instead various colors and shapes and forms that now take our breath away with their magnificence.
I write this as we are parked close to the Anza-Borrego Desert (Northeast of
San Diego). The landscape is dry and sandy and desolate, but we are just a few
miles to the east of a huge mountain range. The one we drove over to get to
this valley of desolation. Some may say there is not much beauty here,
especially as we were doing our laundry in the late evening hours last night,
sweating like we were digging a ditch in 120 degree heat. It is HOT! (Thank
you God for the air-conditioning in our RV.)
But God created the deserts, as well as the valleys and the streams. How can
we not notice the great diversity that He has given us to experience in this
life? As the sun was low in the sky this morning, the mountains took on a
splendor all their own, showing colors that are missed in the midday heat. The
jackrabbits run about as numerously as do the squirrels in our Bay Area
neighborhoods. The Creator has created something different to enjoy in this
part of the country, and it is no less and no more than where we shall be in a
few days, parked by the California coastline. It is just a different painting,
a different setting and a different way to "clearly see his invisible
qualities--his eternal power and divine nature."
Be still...be silent...and know that I am God.
Is God saying, don't miss me? I am here for you. I will never leave you. This world is my creation and of all my creations, you are my favorite. You are the one I have chosen to have a relationship with. You are the one I sent my Son to die for. You are the one that I love above all else. You are my child and this life and this world are my gifts to you, just don't forget to say "Thank You" once in awhile.
When they refused to acknowledge God, he abandoned
them to their evil minds and let them do things that
should never be done.
Romans 1:28
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The teenage years are difficult years for most. Most of us don't even want to acknowledge that we have parents, let alone allow them to join us for our school events and activities. I guess we think that if we don't let them come, no one will realize we have parents...
How long in our adult journey do we act like teenagers with our Father God? How long do we travel along unwilling to invite Him to join us in our activities each day and how long do we refuse to even admit that we are related? That He is really part of us and that He is our Creator. How long do we think that if we just don't mention Him, those around us will never realize that we have a Father? Maybe they will never notice...how long? And then we wonder where God has gone when we get ourselves into trouble doing things "that should never be done."
We pray that our teenagers simply live through this time in their lives. I know I did. There came a time when I no longer had the control over my children that I once had. When they walked out that door they were their own people. They had to make their own choices, and a lot of those were probably choices that I wish they would not make. It was their time to learn and to grow, no matter how painful that might have been for them and for me. I had to allow them to do things "that should never be done" for awhile even though as a parent, it breaks your heart. They were "fully aware" of the "penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway. And worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too." (Romans 1:32) Doesn't this sounds like a bunch of young teenagers, just looking for trouble? And yet in Romans, Paul is talking about us. About adults, that are not listening to our Father. The One who loves us and wants the best for us.
You may be saying, "What terrible people
you have been talking about!" But you are
just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say
they are wicked and should be punished, you are
condemning yourself, for you do these very same things.
Romans 2: 1
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Don't we? We are so quick to judge another, especially our teenagers, and yet if we put it into the perspective of our Father and us, we are acting pretty much the same way. We are being disobedient, we are doing things we shouldn't do, we aren't cleaning up our messes before we make more messes, we are out of control and grumpy and angry and we won't talk to our Father and tell Him what's up because we think He doesn't really understand our troubles anyway. And yet in verse 4 in Romans 2 it says:
Don't you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you?
Or don't you care? Can't you see how kind he has been in giving
you time to turn from your sin?
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As parents, we wait for our children to grow out of it. We really have no other choice. A little age, a few years, and the entire picture can change dramatically. I know, because we have children in their 20's now and they are not quite so angry, not quite so embarrassed to be with us, not quite so quick to think they know it all and we know nothing. They will even ask for our advice, and talk things over with us once in awhile. It is refreshing.
God is our Father and He is kind. He gives us time and He is very patient, but there will come a day when it will be time to "grow up." When there will be punishment for our "stubbornness in refusing to turn from your sin." (Romans 2:5) A time when the "teenage" years must end and we must face the music, like the song my brother Rick wrote, because we know God instinctively. There will be no excuses.
Even when Gentiles, who do not have God's written law,
instinctively follow what the law says, they show
that in their hearts they know right from wrong. They
demonstrate that God's law is written within them, for
their own consciences either accuse them or tell
them they are doing what is right.
Romans 3:14-15
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It is written in our hearts. As I watch our boys grow out of those teenage years, it is almost scary what has been written on their hearts. It is almost scary when I see the influence our parenting has had on their adult years and how they handle things now. I can see that they were listening all along, and that they knew right from wrong and the "laws" we made are written on their hearts. I only pray that what we have taught them will help them and not hinder them. As parents, we are not perfect, we make mistakes and the only training we have had in parenthood has usually come from our parents. It is handed down through the generations, the good and the bad. We sift through it and try to pass only the good, but a little bit of everything seems to come through in the end.
Unlike our Father in heaven who is perfect. He not only invented parenthood, wrote the Book and created the children, He is the One who sent His only Son to this earth to repair our broken relationship with Him forevermore. Sometimes our broken relationships with our teenagers will never be quite the same again, but God is bigger than that. He has made a way for all of us to come back to Him after our wandering years. He welcomes us home and invites us to dine with Him again. He is preparing the table, the feast and all the celebrations for this event. He could not be more excited to have us join Him once again. Instinctively, we know Him. We know that He is our Father even if we have denied that relationship for years. Some of us may never turn toward home, may never acknowledge Him and may end up in a prison of darkness that we will never be released from because of our stubbornness. It is a choice we make, but one that we will be held accountable for. No excuses. It's not a message many like to hear, but it is our responsibility to share it with our "siblings" in this world.
I'm eager to encourage you in your faith,
but I also want to be encouraged by yours.
In this way, each of us will be a blessing to the other.
Romans 1:12
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We are siblings, we are related because we all have the same Father, whether we care to admit it or not. We will all stand before Him one day and answer to Him. We are called to encourage one another in our faith--and having spent time with my brother, his wife and children and their friends, we were treated to a time of encouragement in all that God is doing each day in our lives. It is a joy to be with other "siblings" who have grown out of those "teenage years" and into the fullness of the life God has for each one of us. People we have never met suddenly become family when we talk of the same Father. What joy!
Don't miss out on being part of the family! Acknowledge what is already known instinctively in your heart, that God is your Father, that He wants a relationship with you and that He is patiently waiting for you to turn to Him and away from all the "foolish ideas of what God" is like. He is loving and kind and forgiving. He only wants us to be still and know Him. Know that He is God, that He cares for us and waits to welcome us Home into His eternal Kingdom as His chosen children. Don't miss out on the family reunion because you'd rather sit out in the car and mope like a teenager. Instead, choose to "grow up" and come indoors and celebrate!
If the laundry room in the desert at night is hot beyond belief, you're NOT
going to want to be sitting it out in Hell when the air-conditioning is on in
heaven!
Living in His peace and joy,
Diane
