God is a raging river, crashing through terrain, forcing a way for itself through the earth. God is a locomotive, charging through the cities day and night, carrying people to their next destination. God is a lightning bolt, bright, brilliant light where there is stormy darkness, shocking us all with His power. God is the wind, sometimes just a whisper, gently brushing the hair from my neck; other times, like a tornado, spinning around and around, changing landscapes and circumstances and bonding people through tragedy. God is a warm, soothing mama, a refuge that we crave and seek when we are hurt or scared. God is a cool drink of water on a blistering, hot day. God is compassionate enough to place the sins of the world, your sins and my sins, onto the unblemished shoulders of a sweet little lamb and accept its sacrifice on our behalf. Not to mention that this perfect little lamb is the Son of a Lion.
And yet there are times when I put a blindfold over His eyes because I don’t want Him to see me in my shame. There are times when I put a gag in His mouth because I don’t want to hear His wisdom; I think I know what I’m doing. There are times when I shrink Him, and then lock Him in a cage because my life is going just fine, thank you very much, and I don’t want Him coming in and messing with it.
But then something happens, and I cry out to Him. ‘Help me, Father!’ ‘Save me, God!’ ‘Where in the world are you, Lord?’
And I forget that I’m the one who bound and gagged Him. Not that that ever stops Him. Remember, He’s a tornado. He’s the wind. He’s a raging river. He’s a soothing mama who realizes that I don’t mean it when I scream ‘Go away!’ because I'm just a dusty kid. And so He draws near, or directs someone else who is walking closely with Him to come to me, to convict me and convince me that I need to be the one drawing closer to Him. And then once I acknowledge Him, not just say His name, but truly understand in my heart who He is, then He moves. Because once I truly understand who He is, I start asking for the right things. I stop asking for those things that are self-gratifying, numbing me to my purpose and the needs of the world. I stop asking for comfort and ease and instead ask for a raft to ride the raging river. I ask for a ticket to get on that charging locomotive. I ask for a hand glider so that I can go along with the wind. I ask to be a cup overflowing with water, pouring out my life for the sake of His kingdom.
Who wants to just sit around, atrophying in the easy life, when we can be riding the rapids with God? Seems like a no-brainer and yet…
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