What is God Thinking?
I love looking at NASA’s Hubble image of the day, and I subscribe to several daily news feeds which send me announcements about the latest space and astronomy happenings.
I’m drawn to the heavens because I’m able to see the incredible beauty of God’s handiwork there. “The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above declares his handiwork.” Psalm 19:1.
Scientists tell us when we look at the heavens above our heads, even with the most powerful of telescopes, we’re only able to see a minuscule portion of the universe. Human beings can never fully grasp the vastness of the world our Creator has made all in order to display His glory.
I believe God intended it to be that way.
God created an incomprehensible universe because He is incomprehensible. The immense heavens reflect an immense God, giving us, at best, only the barest pinhole glimpses of a God of unlimited power.
Someone has suggested perhaps the Universe is just ONE of God’s thoughts. How mind-blowing is that?
Trying to comprehend the power behind a Being who can create the Universe is impossible for a finite human creature. It’s just as impossible to understand the grace of God in making provision through His Son for human beings to live with Him in His Universe forever and to enjoy a personal relationship with him.
Psalm 8:3-4 “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”
What to know more about the possibility of a personal relationship with God? Watch the video below.
Hold on! Just wait.
God’s Waiting Room is a familiar place to all praying believers. Those who petition the Father for answers, for relief, for deliverance, for guidance, for comfort, often find such requests are not answered immediately. That’s why God designed His Waiting Room.
If the waiting goes on for months, even years, God’s Waiting Room can become a place of discontentment, anger, frustration, and sometimes, unbelief.
Like most of you, I’ve had lots of experience waiting. So what have I learned from it?
I’ve learned waiting on God doesn’t have to be unbearable as long as I follow some basic principles.
1. Don’t wait alone. Waiting is always easier if it’s shared with someone, even if it’s only virtual sharing.
2. Find something to do while waiting. Occupying body, mind, and spirit makes the waiting easier. If possible, find something you can do to help someone else while you’re waiting.
3. Encourage others as you wait. Empathy for others who may be going through similar circumstances lightens your burden and blesses your soul.
4. Recognize God has a sovereign purpose in the length of your wait. Waiting is no different from anything else in your life—God is working all things for His Glory and your benefit no matter what it is.
Those willing to wait on God are given a special promise. It’s found in Isaiah 64:4: “No eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him.”
While you’re in God’s Waiting Room, He’s out there working for you.
Keep on waiting.
I assure you, it will definitely be worth the wait.
Hold on!!
Hidden in Plain Sight
Because I write mystery/suspense/thrillers, I’m always doing research on technology like hidden cameras, spy drones, and everyday objects that can be used for surveillance. Do you know the very best place to hide something? Hide it in plain sight. People tend to overlook things that are right in front of them.
How many people look at a button on a shirt and think it could be a hidden camera? No one but a spy or a thriller writer, which is all the more reason why it’s the perfect spot for one.
But “hidden in plain sight” doesn’t just apply to spies and detectives and hidden cameras. There are all kinds of hidden words for us in Scripture—staring us right there in the face just waiting for us to discover them.
I recently discovered one of these hidden jewels in Jude. Jude? That’s right. No wonder I’ve overlooked it. How often do you read from the book of Jude? It’s the book just before Revelation, so small it doesn’t even have chapters.
Here’s a “hidden in plain sight” treasure from Jude 24-25: “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever.”
There are several reasons why these verses got my attention, but here are just three of them: 1) God not only helps us as we struggle with sin, He’s “able to keep us from stumbling.” 2) When we appear before Him in His presence, He’ll present us blameless in His sight. 3) When he presents us blameless before His presence, he’ll do it “with great joy.”
Okay, here’s one more: So often, we think of Jesus as our Savior, and rightly so, for his sacrifice on Calvary “saved” us from the wrath of God we all deserve. Yet Jude 25 calls God the Father our Savior: “to the only God, our Savior . . .”
No wonder Jude ends his letter with a praise to Him that we give him “glory, majesty, dominion, and authority . . .”
There you go—a magnificent truth hidden in plain sight for you to treasure and enjoy.
I Can Do Anything
I love the story of the little girl whose mother found her crying in the kitchen. When her mother asked her what was wrong, she said, “I’m in the kitchen, but I still don’t know how to cook.” Her mother put her up on a kitchen stool and proceeded to help her bake some cookies. Later, as they munched on the delicacies, the little girl observed, “If I let you do it, I can do anything.”
There are times when I’m standing in the middle of life, and I suddenly realize I don’t know how to do it. That’s when I try to remember to do these three things. By doing so, I feel as if I can do anything.
1. Ask God to take over.
Not long ago there was a popular song entitled “Jesus Take The Wheel.” It’s almost comical to think of Jesus of Nazareth in a long white robe and dusty sandals sitting in the driver’s seat and tooling along the highway of life with me in the passenger seat. However, while the picture may be amusing, the concept is theologically sound. John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” You can have peace; He’s overcome all the obstacles. Trust Him.
2. Allow others to help you.
It’s an all-American ideal to “make it on our own” or to “act independently,” but, that’s not a Biblical concept. When Paul speaks of believers in Christ, he describes each one as part of a whole. In fact, he sees this whole as if it were a human body. He says in 1 Corinthians 12:14, “the body is not one member, but many.” When I ask help from a fellow believer, I’m functioning in the way God intended His Spiritual body on earth to function.
3. Accept the personality God gave you.
Are you an introvert? Then don’t expect to live as an extrovert. Do you enjoy talking? Then don’t expect to stay silent. God says in Psalm 17, “You are the apple of my eye,” and in Isaiah 44:2, “This is what the LORD says– he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you:” Perhaps the best passage for understanding the hand of God upon the life of every individual is Psalm 139. The message in these verses is that God made you the way you are, and you glorify Him when you accept this truth.
Ask God.
Allow Others.
Accept Yourself.
Remember this pyramid with God at the pinnacle. “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13.
How Can I Believe in God?
I’ve never had a problem believing in God. It’s as natural to me as breathing.
That doesn’t mean I’ve ever seen God, or had an angelic visitation, or received some special sign from Him. I’ve never seen any writing on the wall or heard an audible voice, or had some tangible proof He’s real.
My belief in God comes from trust. I trust what the Bible tells me about God. Ironically, the faith to believe in Him, to trust what the Scriptures tell me about Him, is a gift from God.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Believing in God is not something I can do for myself. The ability to believe in God comes from God.
Any person who sincerely wants to know God will find Him. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13.
I believe in God because He created the desire for me to believe in Him; He provided the means for me to believe in Him, and He made the provision for me to believe in Him.
And, He didn’t just do it for me; He did it for you as well.
John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
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