Thinky Stinky

Thoughts from the Throne

No, this is not about Preparation H, but I’ll use the analogy to get this thought started.

Many of life’s hemorrhoids prepare us for other purposes God has in store for us. As I get older, I see so many people dealing with tragic loss, horrible illness, or seemingly unfair life circumstances. I know I personally went through a very rough patch financially as a result of someone else’s unscrupulous business practices. However, looking back, I wouldn’t trade that period of my life for anything because I know that God used that situation to redirect my life and draw me closer to Him.

Do not be too quick to wish these circumstances away. While we often struggle through these situations, we can take comfort that life is not “random” and our sufferings are not in vain. The Creator of the Universe goes with us and can–and WILL–use all circumstances for GOOD for those who love Him. It is highly unlikely that we’ll know the reason or the outcome of those situations while we’re in the middle of them, but I’ve always found it to be so awesome to look back with the 20/20 vision God gives us to see His hands at work in even the most trying of circumstances. Often, we discover that God used those circumstances to prepare us to serve Him by helping others going through similar trials.

ONLY God is capable of that kind of power. ONLY God can redirect the sin of this world and use it for good. Our sin crucified Jesus on the cross, but God uses Jesus’ death to redeem us from that very same sin that crucified Him. Remember: God is Good ALL THE TIME. He–and only He–can make good come from our suffering.

Thoughts from the Throne

“Pride and grace are eternal enemies. PRIDE demands that God bless me in light of my merits (real or perceived)… but GRACE will not deal with me on the basis of anything in me (good or bad), but only on the basis of who God is.” (D.Guzik)

We should all be saying a collective “Whew! Thank you, Lord!”

Thoughts from the Throne

I was reading today in Numbers 32. The Israelites were near the Promised Land but had not yet entered. Leaders from the tribes of Reuben and Gad went to Moses and said, “We’re happy here–where we are. We prefer to stay here,”–outside of the Promised Land.

Is that where you are as a Christian? Are you “close enough” to the Promised Land that you would prefer to take the path of least resistance and lose out on all that God has in store for you?

Standing OUTSIDE the Promised Land is OUTSIDE the Presence of God. “Close enough” to God might as well be miles away. If you think this world is screwed up and getting more so every day, then first ask yourself if YOU are content living “close enough” to God. Then ask yourself, “If I’m not living a Promised Land life, then why would our screwed up world think they need to live there either?!”

Just sayin’.

Thoughts from the Throne

Who sits on YOUR throne? Is it you? Your job? Your family? Your wealth?

If it’s anyone other than our Heavenly Father, then your starting point for life is ALREADY out of order–literally. When you were in school, did you ever have a quiz or test maybe skipped an answer because you weren’t sure and wanted to come back to it, but forgot to skip a line when writing your other answers? The result was that you got a whole bunch of questions wrong because you had the answers in the wrong place–the wrong order? If you start out wrong putting things in order, then EVERYTHING is out of order.

Maybe you’re thinking that your family is your top priority. That certainly SOUNDS like a good thing, but if you put your family ahead of God, then you’ve actually done WRONG by them. Your family will get your best when you put God first. Your job will be more fulfilling when you surrender it to God’s will instead of your own. YOU will be a greater blessing to your family, your friends, your church, your job when you humble yourself by making sure there is only ONE throne in your life–and that you recognize there is only room on that throne for one.

There is only one King–and He alone is worthy to be on the throne.

Thoughts from the Throne

Depending on what you ate last night, maybe the throne room doesn’t lend itself to a truly “quiet” time on a given day. But a quiet time is really about separating yourself from distractions and allowing yourself to hear from God. Have you ever tried to have a conversation in a crowded room fully of noisy people? Or simply tried to hear the TV with kids running around and screaming in your house?. Hearing and focusing on what you want/need to hear can sometimes seem impossible amidst the cacophony of life. While God is certainly capable of sending down a lightning bolt to get your attention, that doesn’t appear to be His default method of communication.

Psalm 46:10 tells us to “be still and know that I am God.” Perhaps that means we need to be quiet and listen. One of the biggest challenges to reading the Bible and praying is the hustle and bustle of life–we’re always on the go; always trying to do do do. Perhaps “be still” means that we need to stop trying to do so much all the time and trust God to prove He is greater than all of our efforts to do so much on our own. Perhaps it means “be still and…” THEN YOU WILL “…know that I am God.” The answer is probably some combination of all three meanings. But whatever the answer is, He tells us clearly what we are to do: “be still”.

I urge you to embrace the most secure few minutes you’ll have on a regular basis and claim that time to finally commit yourself to doing what you say you don’t have time to do: read the Bible. AND–you’ve got a built-in opportunity to “be still”.