I recently watched the movie, The Shack, and I may or may not have cried like a baby throughout the whole movie. I won’t spoil it on here but I definitely recommend watching it because I got a fresh perspective on who God is.
I have spent most of my life trying to figure out God. I always thought I could just put Him in a box because it’s easier that way, kinda like describing food or shoes. There’s always one or two adjectives to describe those but boy was I wrong. God is so infinite there is not enough adjectives to describe Him. How do I know this? I experienced Him.
Let me try make it clearer in a more practical example of how one of my recent weeks went.
Monday: I was so tired and kept dragging myself. I didn’t want to wake up early to go to school, I didn’t want to run any errands nor did I want to engage myself in any social activities. However, I did anyway. How? Because God became a life coach real quick. He says in Proverbs 6:4- “Don’t put it off, do it now! Don’t rest until you do.” Who knew a verse about procrastination and laziness, such simple issues of life, could be found in this great book. He also says in 1 Corinthians 10:31- Whatever you do, do it like you’re doing it for God. These verses didn’t supernaturally give me an industrious spirit, they gave me strength to fight the laziness and get things done.
Tuesday: Someone was rude to me at work when I was being nothing but kind and helpful to them. I had a couple choice of words I wanted to tell them since I was so angry. However, God switched to guidance counselor mode and reminded me of the verses in Galatians 5: 22-23- For God has given us a spirit…of self-control. I walked away, took a couple of breaths and calmed down later. I am not magically fond of this person now but I learned to look at the bigger picture. I reminded myself, hurt people hurt people. So I have no business adding any more hurt to this person’s life by using harsh words. I moved on.
Wednesday: It’s getting to mid-week and I get tired of my routine- work and school. I start feeling like I need someone else to do life with because I don’t want to do it alone. I know I’m not ready for a relationship yet but I start to second guess my decisions- “Had I said yes to that guy I would probably be happy now” God shows up as my good friend and reminds me of Songs of Songs 8:4- Don’t awaken love before it’s time. He wants to teach me what true love is and what a real relationship looks like through Him. He reminds me of how He shows it to me everyday through my personal relationship with Him and other people included. He comforts me and tells me He knows how I feel but He is still taking care of all my baggage so I don’t take it to someone else. He created love, relationships and marriage. He is all of it. I should therefore rest in the fact that He has a good plan for me not to withhold these things but to share them with me. He urges me to be patient until He is done working on my character. He adjusts my focus back to Him and tells me that I should seek Him first and everything else will be added unto me (Matthew 6:33).
Thursday: I’m off to work and I get overwhelmed again with the workload. I start complaining and being ungrateful. At this point, other people’s needs don’t matter because only mine are important. I actually become rude to some extent. I ignore people and I retract into my bubble. I become selfish. God then becomes a parent. He has to remind me of the “house rules” and my “home training”. He has to put His foot down and be straight with me because that’s the only way He can get through my stubbornness. He reminds me of Matthew 5:13-16- He says that I am the salt of the earth and the light of the world that people need to see so they can see God in me shining bright as day. When I allow myself to forget that and start acting like a spoilt child with my little tantrums then my Dad has to step in and remind me to act right. He counts on me to represent Him well and this involves discipline. I can’t just do whatever I want. So I stop being such a baby and come back to my senses. He says it’s okay to be overwhelmed and get discouraged but I need to remember that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13). So pick up right where you left off, do what is right and keep going because I am with you, He adds.
Friday: I go for youth praise and worship practice at my church and I have no idea where to begin. My team is looking up to me on where to go because I am their leader. I feel insufficient and unqualified to be merely standing before them but God comes again and becomes my teacher. He quickly reminds me of 2 Corinthians 3:5- “It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.” He tells me to hear Him and not my voice. He then starts to give me ideas and insights. All of a sudden, I can hear wrong notes and fix them, I can find harmonies, I can re-arrange a whole song and I can teach my team as they teach me. These things don’t come from me, they come from Him. So I thank Him.
Saturday: It’s been a long week and I just want to relax. God comes again and He becomes my grandfather. You know how grandparents are, they are always trying to spoil you or make you fat with all kinds of food. Yep! that’s my best description of God on this day. He reminds me of how much He loves me, how He chose me, how I’m purposeful, how I’m worthy of the best things in life and how He wants to pour all His goodness into my life. He completely showers me with kind words and tells me I’m the reason why He can turn heaven upside down for me. I’m reminded of John 3:16- a simple verse that is the embodiment of our faith. “For God so loved the world…(finish here). He says not one bird falls from the sky without Him noticing. He knows the number of hairs on my head…this is how valuable we are to God (Matthew 10:29-31). I rest in His presence and sleep a good night.
Sunday: I go to church. I prepare my heart to lead the youth into worship. I feel so unworthy of standing in front of people because I know I sinned. He then becomes my Saviour. He tells me to look at His scars and be reminded that He already made payments for the debt of my sin and that I am righteous in His eyes. The Holy Spirit overwhelms my heart and I feel at peace. Service runs accordingly and I say my thank you,s. I go meet up with my lovely group of friends for lunch afterwards. Everyone is full of genuine joy and laughter, even God decides to be funny too. We start to laugh about our weeks and enjoy each other’s company. We encourage and lift each other up. God tells me to look around and see all that is His and the happiness it brings me. I then recognize true friendship that only comes from Him and I count my blessings. He helps me fix my eyes on Him and I am ready for the next week.
God is many things. He is limitless. You can never fit Him into a single box. I hope this gives you peace when you feel like you can’t understand why the Bible says all these different things about Him and you’re trying to make sense of it. He becomes whoever you need Him to be in different situations. You just need to know Him to understand this. To do this, you need to allow Him to be involved in your life so you can experience Him. That’s really it.
Your move.