Written by: Erica Sawyer
There’s always a choice. There are always two ways to look at something. You can choose to be positive by finding the good in perhaps a “not-so-good” situation, or you can choose to be negative ignoring all the good that could be found.
This is free will. Without free will we would be robots. Robots can’t love.
God wants us to fall in love with Him. We would not have that ability without free will. Love without a choice is slavery….not love.
Throughout the love story also called the Bible, God’s word reminds us of one thing over and over again:
God doesn’t tell us how he loves us…..
He shows us.
God demonstrated his love…
He laid down his life….
He humbled himself to death on a cross…..
He shows us.
He shows us in the quiet moments of our lives, but if we are too preoccupied with the world, the groans of the day may drown out his love notes along the way.
It may be an answer to prayer at the very moment of desperation.
It may be a “no” when you need it the most.
It may be a “penny from heaven” showing up at the exact moment you need your bank replenished.
It may be the perfect scripture at the perfect moment.
To deny it was from God, would be foolish.
God speaks to us while he is showing us.
I live on a small ranch outside of Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix is known for having beautiful sunsets, to which I can surely attest to. After being here for over 20 years, I can honestly say I am still captured by the beauty of the sunsets most evenings.
Last night was no different. I captured it in this photo, which does a good job of representing what I saw as “God’s glory.” You know no picture will ever do the real thing justice, however.
I sent it as an attachment off to my grandmother in an email. The response I got back was: “God is angry.”
Of course, I shook my head when I read this, because my grandmother is always talking about how angry God is at us, how mad he is at us, and that we deserve it. I have tried to back up how untrue that is on previous occasions but have always been unsuccessful. I stopped refuting her idea. Instead I would pray.
This morning when I was on the phone with Gram, she brought up the picture. Again, she mentioned how she saw God’s anger in that.
I smiled….Door opened….
“God’s not angry at us anymore. He took all of his anger out on Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary.”
It was quiet for a moment; she has a “teletype” telephone which types out the words of the other caller on a screen, because after almost 91 years of hard work, the best parts wear out the quickest.
I continued when she responded with “Ja!”
“Every sin committed by every person that has ever lived was placed on Jesus that day. That is why when Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me??” It was at that very moment, God withdrew his spirit from Jesus. It was the only moment in Jesus’ life that he was separated from his father….And in that very moment, God poured out ALL of his wrath on Jesus. ALL OF IT. He didn’t spare one sin or one punishment. But He did it SO THAT he wouldn’t have to be angry with us anymore.”
Again it was quiet for what seemed like forever. She was either going to go off on a tangent again like she always did or she was going to finally see the beauty in God’s creation instead of his anger all the time.
The latter happened.
“I never looked at it that way before….” she said slowly, as if to be thinking about it deeply.
I could tell she finally got it. It wasn’t anything I did. I just prayed. Every time I tried before it was about my effort, my words, my way. This time, it was about God’s effort, his work, his way…
God’s timing is always perfect. We may think things should be a certain way at a certain time. I mean God promises me these things, right? So why is it taking so long to manifest? Is this not how Abraham responded…wondering ‘where are you God’? Why can’t people see things the way I want them to see things, or better yet, the way God wants them to?
Those are “why” questions you will never have answers to, but if you trust in God’s process, if you have faith that God will finish what he has started, if you humble yourself to God’s will, you will find yourself seeing things in a way you’ve never seen before…..
and God says it will be glorious…….
…..and it is!!
Deuteronomy 5:24 “You said, “Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire, we have seen today that God speaks…..”
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