Keeping Watch


 

So do not fear I am with you;

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

There is a huge difference in being watched and being watched over. Too many people have a concept of God as judge. They see him as standing nearby watching and waiting for the mistake, the sin that will surely come. When it does he will pounce. “Gotcha’!” That isn’t who God is or how he operates. God is omnipresent, yes, but he is here with us to protect us, guide us and love us.

          We love the words in Romans 8:38-39.  Nothing can separate us from God’s love. That’s sounds great but does he have to watch every move? Yes, yes he does.

          I thought about this the other day when I heard our kindergarten teachers talking about classroom visits from the administrators of our school. For the most part the ladies were rattled. One of the teachers new to our school this year, asked if they pop in often. The atmosphere at that lunch table was a little bit stressed, until one of them spoke and flipped the idea on its head.

          “I see it as them trying to help us. They come in, see what we’re doing and then from a different perspective they can tell us what to do, how to fix stuff that isn’t working.” She went on to say that she does the best that she can each day but it is very open to new ideas. She saw the drop-in visits as fresh eyes and new outlooks. She wasn’t at all threatened and her attitude gave her whole team a new way of seeing things.

          We love the idea of Immanuel, God with us, when we are sad, frightened or lonely. When we’re in sin or contemplating sin or simply just goofing off, we’re not so sure omnipresent works for us. Is God watching and looking for that mistake, that misstep, that sin, just so that he can punish us? No! No, he is not!

          The words of Scripture that tell us that God is always with us are usually accompanied by, “do not be afraid” or “do not be discouraged.”  God is not waiting to attack, he’s waiting to help. God loves us more than we can possibly imagine.

          I love Kelly’s take on the administrator drop-ins, there to help not criticize. I hope that more and more we can all see God’s presence in the same way, here to help, to guide and to lavish love.

         

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Not Really god, where are you?

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning to noon.”Baal answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said, “Surely he is a god! Perhaps his is deep in thought, or busy or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 1 Kings 18:26b-27 Those who know me would be quick to tell you that I am a bit sarcastic. It’s a quality that I have passed on to my children and even some of my grandchildren. Some days I feel a little guilty. Is that really a quality that God wants to see in me? Certainly that cannot be my go to attitude but there are times that it comes in quite nicely. This morning, reading a totally unrelated verse, I was reminded of this account in the first book of Kings. (It begins at verse 16 and continues to the end of the chapter. I highly recommend reading it if you haven’t and it if you have reread it. It’s great!) In this p
Read more

My Offering

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also love you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. Ephesians 5:1-2 Standing in my kitchen, I was praying that what I was putting together for a friend would convey what I want her to know, that I so deeply appreciate her. As my mind spun around what can I add? What would she really like? Is this enough? I had to laugh. That is so often my prayer, “Lord, I don’t have anything to give. I don’t give enough. What can I possibly do?” and on, and on and…. Well, you get it, I’m sure. May I just say, GOD IS GOOD! (Yes, I know the caps mean I’m shouting. Yes, I am shouting!) While I was preparing my “gift” I was thinking about how often I feel that I don’t do enough, for friends, for family, for my hubby and certainly for God. I had music playing, another pretty typical occurrence. The Third Day song, “Offering” started to play and I started singing along.
Read more

God Only Knows

    Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again; Rejoice! Let you gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7   Anyone who knows me, know that I am very skeptical of anything that presents itself as a formula to get closer to God. It’s as if we have to follow certain steps in a certain order to get His attention or receive His mercy. I am much more an advocate of crying out from the naked, transparent depths of my heart. Trusting that the God who created me and loves me is not checking the order of my steps as I run to Him.           Today I’m going a little bit of a sidestep from that. This morning while praying three phrases came to my mind and heart and immediately I knew they weren’t just for me. Som
Read more