A Lesson Learned: Repeated Truths

 

I’ve been giddy about God’s word lately. I know it sounds weird and I never pictured myself using those words in the same sentence…and don’t get me wrong, I ALWAYS benefit when I open up my Bible. But this past week I have been craving time spent studying the Word and marveling at the truths that have been revealed.

I also feel as though there is something that God is trying to get through my thick skull…because I keep seeing the same “truths” repeated in everything I am reading!
Here is the text from my BSF Bible study for this week:

 

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
Who can fathom the Spirit of the LORD,
or instruct the LORD as his counselor?
Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
or showed him the path of understanding?
-Isaiah 40:12-14

This passage is humbling and at the same time awe-inspiring. The imagery of God holding all the oceans of the world in the palm of his hand gives me goose bumps. The point that I took away from it is that God is vast, powerful, and all-knowing. He is the I AM and needs no one to teach HIM knowledge…especially not me!

A dear friend lost her brother this past week in a snowboarding accident. He was in a coma for almost 2 weeks. Thousands of people prayed and yet God still chose to take Him. When I heard the news, I just wanted to ask God, “What are you doing? Why did you let this happen?” In my prideful mind, He needed a little enlightening. And then I read this scripture. Yikes. He has a plan and a reason for everything…I just have to trust.

We’re also reading an amazing book called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. It is amazing, humbling, and extremely thought-provoking…one of the best books I’ve read in a long time! On the same day that I read the Isaiah passage, I read this in Crazy Love. Chan sets it up by challenging us to pretend we are an extra in a movie. Instead of acknowledging our 1.5 seconds where the back of our head is seen, we tell everyone that the movie is about us.

“Now consider the movie of life…

 

God creates the world. (Were you alive then? Was God talking to you when he proclaimed “It is good” about all He had just made?)
Then people rebel against God (who, if you haven’t realized it yet, is the main character in this movie), and God floods the earth to rid it of the mess people made of it.
Several generations later, God singles out a ninety-nine -year-old man called Abram and makes him the father of a nation (did you have anything to do with this?).
Later, along come Joseph and Moses and many other ordinary and inadequate people that the movie is also not about. God is the one who picks them and directs them and works miracles through them.
In the next scene, God sends judges and prophets to His nation because the people can’t seem to give Him the one thing He asks of them  (obedience).
And then, the climax:  The Son of God is born, among the people whom God still somehow loves. While in this world, the Son teaches His followers what true love looks like. Then the Son of God dies and is resurrected and goes back up to be with God.
And even though the movie isn’t quite finished yet, we know what the last scene holds. It’s the scene I already described in chapter 1:  the throne room of God. Here every being worships God who sits on the throne, for He alone is worthy to be praised.
From start to finish, this movie is obviously about God. He is the main character. How is it possible that we live as though it is about us?  Our scenes in the movie, our brief lives, fall somewhere between the time Jesus ascends into heaven (Acts) and when we will all worship God on His throne in heaven (Revelation).

Wow. Our challenging week of dealing with behavior problems pales in comparison. It has convicted me even more to take all of life’s challenges to God FIRST, He is obviously way better equipped to handle them than I am!

I know this was a long post…thanks for sticking with me! If you get a sec, head to the Crazy Love website and watch the video entitled, “The Awe Factor of God” (scroll to the bottom of the screen…it’s in the middle). Believe me, you’ll be glad you did.

6 Comments

  1. I was just considering blogging about those Isaiah verses, too! I've been parked on them all week. They tie in perfectly with Crazy Love (I read it a year ago but it's still changing my life). Thanks for the conviction and encouragement.

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