It seems all the best stuff comes to me when I am either exhausted, depressed, or both. Guess Ill just roll with it.
Here is what came to me tonight.
Pronto? Andiamo! "Ready? Lets go!"
I just love learning languages!
*clears throat* anyway...
One Sunday afternoon I was driving home, thinking on some things and this was impressed on my heart, "Do you think I give Just to take away?"
Now, Im a "baby Christian" (actually, since my spiritual age is two, to be completely accurate I would be a "toddler Christian". So there you go, when I seem moody its because I've hit the terrible twos) but I digress, its early yet in my spiritual walk, so, I've wondered if that was God talking that day or just me or...whatever.
Well, I've heard songs like "hills and valleys" by tauren wells which has a verse that goes,
" father you give and take away every joy and every pain"
Give. AND take away.
Hmmm...
Tonight I heard " I will praise you through the storm" by Casting Crowns.
(I know y'all are thinking, " does this girl ever stop beating around the bush?" lol. Go get you a cup of coffee dearies you'll be here a while. Laugh a little. Its good for ya.)
Alright so, what caught my attention about that song was this verse,
" I raise my hands and praise the God who gives and takes away"
I thought... so was I wrong? Was that not Him saying " do you think I give just to take away?"
Now... this hit me about that statement. The word "just". Like if someone said the reason they did something was "just because". What's that mean? It means acting on a whim. Does God act on a whim? Im going with a resounding no. I believe there is a purpose behind everything that God does and nothing is "just because". Therefore, He would not give and then take away merely on a whim, or better put, just for the heck of it. I also do not believe that God would act contrary to His promises and give me beauty in place of the ashes just to take it away on a whim, just for the heck of it, or " just because". Without a doubt in my heart, I know if He were to take that away, there would be good reason.
But what really cinched things for me was reading Job chapter 1. After I had listened to the song by Casting Crowns, I did a little Google research and found Job 1:21 " the lord gave and the Lord has taken away blessed be the name of the Lord".
So I went and read the whole first chapter of Job.
Job had ten kiddos. Seven sons. Three daughters. He had 500 female donkeys. (So...no baby donkeys then. So sad.) Job had 7,000 sheep and 3,000 camels. He had servants and a very large home. And Job was " blameless and upright". And he feared God.
Wulp along came Satan and he attacks Job's character. He says to the Lord "You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!"
Verse 12 " and the Lord said to Satan, behold all that he has is in your power only do not lay a hand on his person."
Well...Job loses everything all at once. (Except the four servants that survived to tell him.) All at once come two raids, a fire and a great wind and everything Job held dear was gone. All of his sheep, camels, lady donkeys, and each of his ten children. Job didn't lose material things. He didn't lose his smartphone, his laptop, his brand new car. Job lost his livelihood. He lost his means of financial stability. He lost his family, every child that he saw come into the world, that he raised into presumably adulthood, all ten. Gone.
And what is Job's reaction?
He tore his robe, shaved his head and fell to the ground and worshiped.
" naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there." Job says. " the lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord."
Now that is TRUST right there man. That is Faith. Job knew God had a purpose, a Good Reason for taking everything a way. But it wasn't just to test Job's faith. Job's story is written in the word of God which means that thousands of years later we-us-today get to read it and get inspired. If Job can go through all of that and fall to his knees in worship instead of cursing or blaming God and falling away from Him- I mean man...
I know we could never fully grasp the scope- the full impact of everything God does. Its beyond our understanding. Similarly, we may never know truly how big a ripple we make with our own actions. Things we say or do today may affect others' lives long after we're gone. The full weight of our impact each as individuals may never be known. A very good reason to be mindful of our words and actions so that they uplift and not crush, so that they may honor instead of shame.
Well, folks, those are my thoughts for the evening. Not much of a tidy wrap up, but there it is. Its just so funny how God works sometimes. If I had not been feeling the way I have been feeling lately, I would not have been up late tonight listening to music. I would have no words to write. And I wouldn't have the answer I now have. All things for a purpose. Nothing
"Just because".
Here is what came to me tonight.
Pronto? Andiamo! "Ready? Lets go!"
I just love learning languages!
*clears throat* anyway...
One Sunday afternoon I was driving home, thinking on some things and this was impressed on my heart, "Do you think I give Just to take away?"
Now, Im a "baby Christian" (actually, since my spiritual age is two, to be completely accurate I would be a "toddler Christian". So there you go, when I seem moody its because I've hit the terrible twos) but I digress, its early yet in my spiritual walk, so, I've wondered if that was God talking that day or just me or...whatever.
Well, I've heard songs like "hills and valleys" by tauren wells which has a verse that goes,
" father you give and take away every joy and every pain"
Give. AND take away.
Hmmm...
Tonight I heard " I will praise you through the storm" by Casting Crowns.
(I know y'all are thinking, " does this girl ever stop beating around the bush?" lol. Go get you a cup of coffee dearies you'll be here a while. Laugh a little. Its good for ya.)
Alright so, what caught my attention about that song was this verse,
" I raise my hands and praise the God who gives and takes away"
I thought... so was I wrong? Was that not Him saying " do you think I give just to take away?"
Now... this hit me about that statement. The word "just". Like if someone said the reason they did something was "just because". What's that mean? It means acting on a whim. Does God act on a whim? Im going with a resounding no. I believe there is a purpose behind everything that God does and nothing is "just because". Therefore, He would not give and then take away merely on a whim, or better put, just for the heck of it. I also do not believe that God would act contrary to His promises and give me beauty in place of the ashes just to take it away on a whim, just for the heck of it, or " just because". Without a doubt in my heart, I know if He were to take that away, there would be good reason.
But what really cinched things for me was reading Job chapter 1. After I had listened to the song by Casting Crowns, I did a little Google research and found Job 1:21 " the lord gave and the Lord has taken away blessed be the name of the Lord".
So I went and read the whole first chapter of Job.
Job had ten kiddos. Seven sons. Three daughters. He had 500 female donkeys. (So...no baby donkeys then. So sad.) Job had 7,000 sheep and 3,000 camels. He had servants and a very large home. And Job was " blameless and upright". And he feared God.
Wulp along came Satan and he attacks Job's character. He says to the Lord "You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!"
Verse 12 " and the Lord said to Satan, behold all that he has is in your power only do not lay a hand on his person."
Well...Job loses everything all at once. (Except the four servants that survived to tell him.) All at once come two raids, a fire and a great wind and everything Job held dear was gone. All of his sheep, camels, lady donkeys, and each of his ten children. Job didn't lose material things. He didn't lose his smartphone, his laptop, his brand new car. Job lost his livelihood. He lost his means of financial stability. He lost his family, every child that he saw come into the world, that he raised into presumably adulthood, all ten. Gone.
And what is Job's reaction?
He tore his robe, shaved his head and fell to the ground and worshiped.
" naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there." Job says. " the lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord."
Now that is TRUST right there man. That is Faith. Job knew God had a purpose, a Good Reason for taking everything a way. But it wasn't just to test Job's faith. Job's story is written in the word of God which means that thousands of years later we-us-today get to read it and get inspired. If Job can go through all of that and fall to his knees in worship instead of cursing or blaming God and falling away from Him- I mean man...
I know we could never fully grasp the scope- the full impact of everything God does. Its beyond our understanding. Similarly, we may never know truly how big a ripple we make with our own actions. Things we say or do today may affect others' lives long after we're gone. The full weight of our impact each as individuals may never be known. A very good reason to be mindful of our words and actions so that they uplift and not crush, so that they may honor instead of shame.
Well, folks, those are my thoughts for the evening. Not much of a tidy wrap up, but there it is. Its just so funny how God works sometimes. If I had not been feeling the way I have been feeling lately, I would not have been up late tonight listening to music. I would have no words to write. And I wouldn't have the answer I now have. All things for a purpose. Nothing
"Just because".
