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“Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!” I Chronicles 16:10 (ESV)

We, sweet friends, are choosers.  Getting what we want reigns high most days.  We want options, variety and the right to decide which one works best for us today – not tomorrow – just simply today. And there are lots of things we get to choose, right?  Shoes are a girl’s best friend, especially when they come in lots of colors, styles (heels, flats) ease or just look pretty (comfort out the window).  If we’re hiking, we will definitely forego the heels.  If we are going to a wedding, we will definitely trump comfort.  I think you get the idea…choosers are selective, even manipulative in getting what they want.

Real question here is what happens when we don’t get what we want?  Yes, we’ve all landed there, haven’t we?  Sometimes, we will avoid the obvious, not our choice, and keep searching for something else to satisfy.  Other times, we get frustrated and whine for days.  Sometimes, we kick and scream demanding what we want – that isn’t pretty – but we’ve done it.

While our choice of shoes, coffee or clothes aren’t game changers, God’s character is uncompromising.  All too often, we land in this place of choosing what version of God serves us well in the moment.  We love God’s grace in the aftermath of wrong actions.  We gravitate towards God’s patience and long suffering when we fail to obey Him.  We cherish His peace despite the chaos we’ve created for ourselves and others.  And when someone else wrongs us, oh yes, we claim God’s holiness and justice.

One glaring, big problem here – we can’t be choosers when it comes to God’s character.  We can’t simply decide He’s holy but doesn’t judge sin. We can’t regulate His grace to excuse our wrong actions.  We can’t pick a version of God that fits our agenda or our present circumstances.  God isn’t one dimensional – He is all dimensional. His character is flawless, perfect and all encompassing.  God is faithful, trustworthy, just, fair, righteous, loving, holy, long-suffering, grace-filled, all knowing, all seeing, all powerful ….and that sweet friends is just a little of who our God is. Perfectly in balance, He acts in the culmination of all aspects of His character to fulfill His purposes and agenda.

Choosers will wrestle here because we’d rather welcome the God who rescues, redeems and restores than the One who disciplines, corrects and allows consequences.  Yet out of the depths of God’s great love, He chooses exactly what is required to birth growth and transformation in us.  We can totally trust God to be and act consistent with His character at all times.

From Genesis to Revelation, we see the steadfast, unmovable character of God unfold page by page. He is the same God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as He is today – nothing has changed.  So in those moments when our chooser mentality rises to the surface and we’re hand picking an aspect of God’s character to fit our agenda, let’s remember He encompasses it all perfectly.  Our God knows what is best and what will serve us well so we can glorify His name.

“Father help us to read Your word with a fresh lens of seeing Your character and the way You interact with all people. Teach us to have a balanced view of who You are and not selectively choose what suits us at the moment.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life