sovereignty of god – Free Spirit Seed Company

The Grass on Your Shoe

Next time you walk into your house with a piece of grass on your shoe, think about this scripture. Then maybe upgrade the way you think about your enemies (physical, political, etc.).

“Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass [tan wisps on your shoe that degrade into dust] and wither like the green herb.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭37‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭ESV

Maybe fear, anger, or bitterness are not the best response. If we saw them how God does, we would ‘fret not’ because they are already fading like dead, brown grass.

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When talking about God as our Father, sometimes I think of my dad — who happens to be a very good one — and I think how God is similar to him. But the other day somebody upgraded my thinking.

God was a Father before my dad was, right? So it’s probably more accurate to say it the other way around. My dad is a tiny bit like God is, rather than God resembles my dad.

Both statements are true, of course. My point is not to split hairs, only to say everything good we experience, if we get right down to it, originated inside God himself.

For example, the Bible says, “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” Romans 11:36. That would include trustworthiness and generosity for example. Humans didn’t invent those.

So if your best friend can be trusted and likes to give and share a lot, it’s kind of like God is saying, “I put this person in your life to show you a bit about what I’m really like.”

Or if somebody is merciful, he is saying, “Here is a little glimpse of what it’s like to be around me.”

All the good and delightful things we experience are peeks into what Father’s character is like. Each displays part of his nature that he’s invited us to dive deeper into. It’s all to draw us into closer communion with him.

Grief, I’m thinking, also shows a bit about what goes on in his heart. If he made us like him — “in his image” the Bible says in Genesis 1:26 — everything about us (except sin) would probably reflect part of who he is. Creativity … engineering … anger when people mess with your kids … writing poetry … jealousy if your spouse is cheating … laughter … love for great music. And grief.

I’m getting a little deep here, but I think grief is another way God is giving us a view into how he feels.

“Jesus wept.”
John 11:35

“And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.”
Genesis 6:6

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God“
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭30‬a

He’s letting us experience what he experiences.

How do you think he felt the day his Son died?

Loss is not necessarily good. But the ability to grieve over it is.

And the experience of grief is something God felt before we did. If knowing his heart is important for us, this is probably another way he is letting us ‘in,’ making us a little more like him. He felt all that we feel, and he felt it first.

We can say, “Jesus, I am completely devastated. I feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest and crushed into pulp.” And he can say, “Yep. Me, too. Been there.”

That, of course, isn’t the whole story.

He is also the Party God. He invented succulent food, warm friendship, perfect sunny weather, children, lovers, laughter and comedy. When we enjoy any wholesome pleasure, he is again letting us feel what he experiences. Plus, if we consider what the Bible promises us in the next life (consider reading Heaven by Randy Alcorn), the real parties haven’t even started yet.

Suggestions on Finding God’s Will

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:1-2

Clues I see here include…

We must present our bodies as living sacrifices to God. That at least means living in a way that is holy and which God finds acceptable.
What drives us to do that is “the mercies of God.” (Why did he appeal specifically to God’s mercies to motivate us for holy living?)
We must have our minds renewed in a way that brings transformation.
We must not be conformed to this world.

None of those things are ends in themselves. They are means to an end, and that is knowing our Father intimately. Then it’ll be easier to discern his will.

It is very similar to someone asking you what your best friend wants for their birthday. You might say, “A Golden Doodle puppy,” or, “Anything strawberry flavored,” or, “Tickets to see this band play in London.” If they asked how you knew, you’d probably just say, “Because I know them. We spend a lot of time together.”

In our case, we are the ones wanting to know what God wants. And the way we can understand what he wants is by really getting to know him, by spending lots of time together.

The Hymn about Ink

Could we with ink the ocean fill

You go to the beach. Instead of water washing up on the sand, it’s black ink. Ships sail past in the distance, on top of it.

And were the skies of parchment made

You go outside in the morning to sip your coffee. There are no clouds, no sky blue, no orange sun. It’s a giant piece of paper so big it takes jets several minutes to fly across it, from the horizon on one side, all the way to the top of the sky, and all the way down the other horizon.

Were every stalk on earth a quill

Every single blade of grass in your yard (have you ever counted how many are in one square foot?), every stalk of corn in Kansas, every tree trunk in any forest — all of them are quills people write with.

And every man a scribe by trade

All 7.6 billion of us writing furiously, nonstop. Picture everyone in a packed soccer stadium with a pen and a bunch of paper all writing simultaneously.

To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry

Nor could the scroll contain the whole

Though stretched from sky to sky.

“The Love of God”

by Frederick M. Lehman

Pretty Sure It’s Another Miracle

One of our children has had significant struggles with anxiety the past three years. It started with an illness, and has flared up in many different ways. They are under the care of a brilliant psychiatrist who has prescribed various meds, which have certainly helped.

After a recent unpleasant experience at the dentist, they’ve had panic attacks far worse than any before. They occur around bedtime and keep them (and their mama) up for an extra hour or two. Hyperventilating. Freaking out at trivial things. They have bad dreams about the dentist. If you have anxiety or are close to someone who does, you probably know we could go on recounting the stories for a very, very long time.

Then a couple nights ago, it lifted.

The panic attacks are basically gone, like they evaporated. This child usually meets me at the door happy now, instead of with the latest crisis.

Jealousy is being replaced with, “I’m so happy for them!”

This person has not enjoyed running around outside for several years. Now they ask if we can go for a walk as a family and they enjoy frisbee with their sibs.

And they are finally able to cry. Always they held the tears in, trying to be strong. Last night, for the first time, they cried when their sister was sad about our guinea pigs that died a couple years back.

That’s all brand new.

The Spirit about them is light whereas it used to be weighed down a lot, and they recognize this, too.

Two weeks ago they were terribly concerned about body image, afraid they would never get married and therefore never have children. Today they accept their body the way it is, and feel “content” with it.

We did not pray any specific prayers that night. They just woke up different.

Was this a real miracle? Sometimes people just change, you know. They’re tired of the hum drum and decide to step out in a new direction. People also morph into something beautiful when a kind word strikes home in just the right way. In other instances, an experience permanently changes our perspective. But I can’t find any of these in this story. I interviewed them, looking for such events.

Addendum: It’s been about a month now. We are still having some anxiety issues when life isn’t going like we want. But overall the panic attacks are resolved.

They don’t always meet me happy at the door, but it’s still noticeably different.

They still enjoy being outside and asked to ride their bike today.

They still cry, which again was totally new.

The body image thing went away and never came back.

Pretty sure it was a plain old miracle.

If you feel fearful about the future, me, too. I struggle with it every single day. Often it’s on my mind when I wake up before I’m even out of bed, frequently during the day, and when I lie down. Covid. Civil unrest, nationally and worldwide, politics, etc.

My stomach stays in knots. I get withdrawn and irritable when I’m afraid, which is a lot.
Sing-songy Sunday School verses and cartoon Bible stories profit me nothing when I am afraid like this.

“Everything that could be shaken was shaken, And all that remains is all I ever really had,” articulated Rich Mullins.

When I look around me, everything is shakable. My health, my family, my freedom, all of it.

Sometimes the world looks hopeless, which is a ghastly word if you think about what it really means.

The Sovereignty of God is my only Rock, the only fixed point in the swirling tempest. He has not made the suffering around me go away, but he is my anchor in the middle of it.

I have hope because *he* holds onto *me.* If you can get what I’m saying, God doesn’t help those who help themselves. He helps those who can’t. He helps me when my strength is zero. I am not a strong, rugged individual, an army of one. I am helpless.

‘For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” ‘Isaiah 41:13

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. John 10:28

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10