Originally published Sunday, 15 May 2016.
I quickly wrote a note in my little notebook for thoughts, the one I carry with me at all times just in case, as not to forget something important. Earlier I had been talking to God about a turnaround in my life. It occured to me God never turns around.
He doesn’t need to, but we do. (Turnaround wasn’t what I wrote down however)
The Bible is full of stories and reminders of who God is. It lists many names of God as He is known by those who walk in relationship with Him. Some names are hard to pronounce and many we don’t talk about. I found a list of them in my Bible and it reminded me I don’t use them all near enough.
So I was praying for a turnaround in my perspective to see God in anew way. Often don’t we view God from our own limited perspective? I will go first and say I do. I forget He’s got the panoramic view set on our lives. I forget He holds all the details in our lives safe and secure in such a timely and orderly manner.
I remembered the day I boarded the Atlantis simulator at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. I remembered God at work in my life and He keeps my world on it’s axis. There’s a God who cares when my world goes off kilter and wants to set things back into a right perspective.
We have a God who cares and I don’t want to forget.
I remembered He holds panaramic view my world, and I stood back (well actually strapped back at high G-forces) and remembered His amazing creativity and endless pursuit in my own life. But then it hit me once again, He hadn’t moved and I’ve been the one who been on the run. So why is this such an “aha” moment?
I realized once again God doesn’t have “aha” moments.
It took a jolt like a g-force to remember God’s power, or rather to remind me of a powerful and effective way to live is to remember who God is over the things I tend to forget. You see, often when growing in our faith we forget where we have come from or how much we have grown, and tend to just think of ourselves as one who needs a TON more positive changes.
God reminded me my walk with Him was just where He wanted me to be. (Confession: I want to jump ahead to the mountain top moments full of “aha” moments and skip the valleys where the real reminders tend to come).
Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve not arrived but still have overcome a lot of strongholds in my life which used to hold me back and keep me at a distance from God’s best. So what’s the big deal about “Aha” moments with God or what catches us by surprise?
The note I wrote was “What if I remembered who God is instead of what I’ve forgotten.” I often find myself remembering what I have forgotten, instead of all He has delivered me from. When I am grateful for the freedom He has brought into my life I am reminded of God’s providence. When I affirm God’s over arching good character, He has a way of affirming His good character in my lifeline.
I like reminders of good things, and God is definitely a good thing who brings good, good changes. I want to remember He keeps my world spinning right and forget the wrong things which tend to lead me astray. I want to remember His good words to me over the lies I tend to believe about me. I want to remember how He’s changed me and my life for the better, not what I have lost in the overcoming.
Someone once said, “You learn by doing.” I think I’ll remember the doing of God in my life over my “undoing” to get to where I am. When you focus on your wrongs, it tends to have a negative affect on your life. When you focus on the positives, it builds up your self-esteem and character. Not in a puffed up kind of way but in an honorable way. The benefits of His becoming real and evident in life helps you walk taller, be kinder, live intentionally and in love, the most positive way.
When you remember the good, it helps. When I remember God, I’m reminded I must increase my perspective and I must decrease my small thinking. When I remember who God is then I am reminded who I am. When I know who I am, then I know how to live. When I live with focus on the positives I can help others remember who God is and what He has done for all of us.
Let’s all remember God more, and forget the former things to make more space for Him to set our worlds back in line with Him, renew our perspective on what life is all about, define our purpose and add some g-force to our minds to see Him more clearly. The most important thing to remember is this: Because of Jesus, remember God is a matter of enjoyment. May our relationship with Him not be settled around issues of conflict, pain, sin and sacrifice but around freedom, celebration and delight.
Yes, God is our deliverer and saves us from trouble. But before all those wonderful things, He is our friend, our Father, our good, good Pappa. This connection is rooted in pleasure of intimacy through a one on one relationship. He is a wonder to behold, a power to be feared, a mystery to be explored but chiefly He is a person to be loved. I want to remember how to love Him like He loves me.
Yes, let’s all remember God. And don’t forget to strap in, it’s a wild ride!
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