Thursday, November 4, 2010

Who do I think I am??

Amidst everything that has been happening lately (which I will update on later... I always say that, but do I ever really? *Oh well*), God has been sprinkling reminders all over the place of His sovereignty, of His promises to take care of me (Matthew 7:11), and of my sinful tendency to lose all faith in Him the second things go differently than I think they should. It's pretty disgusting when it comes down to it.

When my mom told me my car was officially totaled, I panicked, wondering how I would ever get by (I am so stinkin' dramatic...)

But then when I was told about the open doors to get a new car, a weight was lifted and I was jumping and singing...

Shouldn't I have been rejoicing regardless??


Then today my dear friend posted this as her facebook status:

"As Solomon wrote, "For God gives rest to his loved ones" (Psalm 127:2).

And so it is for the person who puts his or her trust in God. When we are worrying, we are really saying that God isn't in control, that God is not paying attention. When we worry, we are not trusting in the providence of God.

And what is the providence of God? It is the belief that God is in control of the universe. And specifically as Christians, it means we believe there are no accidents in our lives. Nothing touches us that has not first passed through His hands.

- Greg Laurie (see full entry Here)


Wow! So true! If I am truly trusting in God with my life, will I still be worrying or stressing? No way! David slept peacefully in the lion's den. Why? Because he trusted in God regardless of His circumstances! If I truly believe that this car accident is a PART of God's plan, not a set back from it, what kind of joy would I have BECAUSE of the accident?


To take it further, I was then reminded me of something Francis Chan wrote in his book, Crazy Love. It's one of my favorite books and this part was one of those that stuck with me because I had never heard it this way before:

"When I am consumed by my problems – stressed out by my life, my family, my job – I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than God’s command to always rejoice. In other words, that I have a “right” to disobey God because of the magnitude of my responsibilities.

Worry implies that we don’t quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what is happening in our lives.

Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control.

Basically, these two behaviors communicate that it’s ok to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional. Both worry and stress reek of arrogance. They declare our tendency to forget that we’ve been forgiven, that our lives here are brief, that we are headed to a place where we won’t be lonely, afraid, or hurt ever again, and that in the context of God’s strength, our problems are small, indeed.

Why are we so quick to forget God? Who do we think we are?

So when we worry and stress, not only are we showing God that we don't trust Him, but it is actually sinning! We are making our circumstances a bigger god in our lives than the one God who can take care of those circumstances! That's so crazy and humbling!


Jesus, forgive me of my sin of not trusting you. YOU ARE BIGGER!

1 comment:

Katie Alicea said...

I had my hand raised reading this one! WOW! AMEN! I pray that God forgive me for my arrogance and help me grow in my trust that He is able, willing, and good. HUGS!