Am I Treating God like a Jack-in-a-Box?

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christian walk, encouragement, encouragement for the weary, encouragement for the worn out, faith in God, i need refreshment, is prayer just asking for things i want, prayer, treating God like a genie, true peace, trust, worshipping God

A few years back, I heard a testimony that hit me to my core.

The visiting pastor at a church where I was also visiting explained how he is sometimes guilty of treating God like a Jack-in-a-Box.

Whoa.

That hit me right between the eyes.

He went on with his sermon, but I stayed right in that moment, right in the question of… “Do I treat God like a Jack-in-a-Box?”

(If you are unfamiliar with this torture device, marketed as a toy, it’s worth looking up.)

Well, it really wasn’t a question. It was a knowing. I knew immediately that I often treat God like a Jack-in-a Box.

I pack Him around in a little box, set Him in a situation where I expect Him to pop out. I wind the handle…meaning…I pray. I quote Scripture to prove to Him I’m right. I pray some more…and some more…and sometimes a little more, but God doesn’t pop out when I think He should …and I get mad.

So, I change tactics. I try harder. I pray some more. I may even add fasting. I quote Him more Scripture. I use my essential oils. I check every box I can think of…winding, winding, and winding … waiting for God to pop out. Waiting for God to keep His end of a bargain I assume we had made.

The more I wind, the more frustrated I become. The more frantic I grow.

The more I wind, the more I expect God to pop out at my request.

I become more and more uptight… but I just keep winding.

1 Kings 18:21-29 describes an amazing account where Elijah has a showdown with Baal worshippers. It’s really worth reading, but what I want you to see now is how the Baal worshippers tried to get Baal’s attention.

Here’s what the book of Kings says,“So they took the bull that he gave them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, ‘Baal, answer us!’ But there was no sound; no one answered. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made. At noon Elijah mocked them. He said, ‘Shout loudly, for he’s a god! Maybe he’s thinking it over; maybe he has wandered away; or maybe he’s on the road. Perhaps he’s sleeping and will wake up!’ They shouted loudly, and cut themselves with knives and spears, according to their custom, until blood gushed over them. All afternoon they kept on raving until the offering of the evening sacrifice…”

I think this is what I must look like when I am winding the handle on my Jack-in-a Box god. I think I’m right, so I assume I will be able to prove it. I don’t actually cut myself…not on the outside anyway. But, on the inside? On the inside, I torture myself with what-ifs.

What if I had prayed more specifically for my kids as they were growing up? Are the choices they are making now my fault?

What if I had given 5 days a week to church work and not four, would I still have been the subject of gossip?

What if I had tried harder, accomplished more, dug a little deeper… would God have popped up as I expected?

This is what happens when I treat the God of the universe like a Jack-in–a–Box.

I go, go, go instead of being still and knowing that He is God. (Psalm 46:10)

I wind the handle and wind the handle and wind the handle as tears flow wondering how long I can keep this up.

Sounds like I’ve been worshipping an expectation instead of a Savior.

Sounds like I’ve been worshipping a box and not God.

Sounds like I need to breathe and stop winding the handle on the Jack-in-a Box…now.

Can you relate?

Is that why you are exhausted and in need of refreshment?

So…where do we go from here?

How do we stop the obsession with the handle on that stupid contraption that has no place in our lives?

First off, let’s set the box down and remember who God is… who He really is.

Read Psalm 18 and take note of any verses that encourage you specifically. Write them down in a prominent place so you can revisit them often.

Secondly, let’s quit picking verses out of Scripture to suit our own agenda.

Instead, let’s read until God places the Word He has for us deep in our souls. The message He has for us to hear.

Jeremiah 15:16 says, “Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart, for I am called by Your name, Yahweh God of Hosts.”

Third, let’s quit praying just to get our needs met and instead pray simply to be close to Jesus. Let’s pray in order to stay in close connection with our Best Friend. Let’s remember it’s about relationship.

Fourth, we fast only when we get a direct call from God to do so and not just for financial gain, or to “make” God move in a certain way. (Read Isaiah 58 for further insight.)

We choose to worship instead of wind the box.

We choose to leave the handle alone.

We choose the connection of the Vine (John 15) over the expectation of the pop up.

Let’s take our Jack-in-a Box to Goodwill and leave it there.

Our God deserves to be worshipped for Who He is and not what we think He should be doing.

Our God deserves complete trust and faith in His plan and the timing of it.

Our God deserves to be adored and loved… not accused of not keeping the end of a bargain He never made.

God is not a Jack-in-a Box who comes and goes at the whim of our attentions.

God is God.

He is faithful.

He is true.

He is perfect.

He is love.

He is Savior.

He is Lord.

Let’s worship Him and throw the Jack-in-a- Box in the trash where it belongs. I guarantee you will feel refreshed.

www.seekinghearts.org

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Forgiveness in the Holidays – Part 2

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forgiveness, freedom, getting true piece, how can I forgive that, how can I get past the hurt, how to be free of unforgiveness, how to forgive, how to have peace, love, true peace, trusting God

This week’s blog is part 2 on the subject of forgiving and how to come to a place of forgiveness. If you missed part 1, be sure to click the following link (Part 1) because we are jumping off the deep end into point number three today.

Step Three in how to get to a place of forgiveness is that you know God is going to get ‘em. (I warned you we were jumping off the deep end.)

This is something that we all feel funny thinking, but you need to know that forgiveness is not about letting people off the hook. Forgiveness is actually placing people who have wronged you into the hands of a mighty, powerful God who is in love with you and wants the best for you. He’s a little prejudice when it comes to you and that’s who you want taking care of your situation!

Here are a few examples of what God says about people who have tried to harm you:

Deuteronomy 32:35, “Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay. In time their foot will slip, for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”

Vengeance means – “infliction of punishment in return for a wrong; retribution.” So,God is not saying people haven’t harmed you. He is just telling us that He will take care of the punishment. You can be free and go on living your life while He remembers the wrong and pursues justice for you.

Psalm 18:47-49 says, “God—He gives me vengeance and subdues peoples under me. He frees me from my enemies. You exalt me above my adversaries; You rescue me from violent men. Therefore I will praise You, Yahweh, among the nations; I will sing about Your name.”

So, again we see that He frees us and allows us to praise Him daily while He is handling those who have wronged us.

Just a quick side note here – Does God expect us to keep our mouths shut and not be able to be heard?

This has almost killed me in some of the circumstances we have been in lately…knowing that God wanted me to be quiet and not “speak my mind”… not because He didn’t want me to be heard, but in order to protect me in ways I didn’t understand at the time. The really awesome thing though is we can ALWAYS pour our heart out to Him even when He is telling us not to “speak our mind”. He is always with us wanting us to tell Him how we feel and what we are struggling with. There is such an amazing release when we lay it all out before Him. Psalm 62:8 says, “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge.” The God of the universe is saying, “I want to hear from you.”

Several months ago I was in my car travelling replaying a situation over and over again in my mind. Instead of a release, I just kept getting madder and madder and madder. It finally dawned on me that I needed to talk to God and not just myself, so I poured it before Him. Instead of replaying it to myself, I spoke it out loud to Him. It was an incredible experience! You wouldn’t think it would help that much, but it does. So, I encourage you to verbally release it all to Him. Tell Him how mad you are and what people have done to you. Name names! It really does help.

Here is a great example in Scripture where David is pouring his heart out to God: “LORD, God of vengeance— God of vengeance, appear.
Rise up, Judge of the earth; repay the proud what they deserve.
LORD, how long will the wicked— how long will the wicked gloat?
They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.
LORD, they crush Your people; they afflict Your heritage.
They kill the widow and the foreigner and murder the fatherless. They say, “The LORD doesn’t see it. The God of Jacob doesn’t pay attention.”
Pay attention, you stupid people! Fools, when will you be wise?
Can the One who shaped the ear not hear, the One who formed the eye not see?
The One who instructs nations, the One who teaches man knowledge— does He not discipline?
The LORD knows man’s thoughts; they are meaningless. LORD, happy is the man You discipline and teach from Your law
to give him relief from troubled times until a pit is dug for the wicked.
The LORD will not forsake His people or abandon His heritage,
for justice will again be righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.
Who stands up for me against the wicked? Who takes a stand for me against evildoers? If the LORD had not been my helper, I would soon rest in the silence ⌊of death⌋.
If I say, “My foot is slipping,” Your faithful love will support me, LORD.
When I am filled with cares, Your comfort brings me joy.” – Psalm 94:1-19

David was genuine in his feelings and in his thoughts, and we know from Scripture that God calls him a man after His own heart. We can know from the example of David that not only is it just acceptable to pour out our hearts to God, but He wants that intensity with us. He wants that honesty.

David was also truthful about the fact that his foot was starting to slip in this matter. I take that to mean his mouth was getting the better of him, or his thoughts were running away from him, but he knew that His God was there supporting him with His faithful love and was not only helping David get through the situation, but was also in the process of taking care of the ones who had hurt him.

Okay, so I hope you see that God does want you to be heard. He just wants to be the One doing the listening.

So, back off the rabbit trail and back on to point three which reminds us that God will get those who try to harm us.

Psalm 94:20-23 says, “Can a corrupt throne— one that creates trouble by law— become Your ally? They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. But the LORD is my refuge; my God is the rock of my protection. He will pay them back for their sins and destroy them for their evil. The LORD our God will destroy them.”

Do I know why God doesn’t punish those who have wronged us when we think they should be punished? No, but I do know that our God is worthy of our trust. We can trust His timing because we know He loves us. The Bible assures us that His thoughts are so much higher than our thoughts and His ways are so much better than our ways (Isaiah 55:9), so we know that His timing and His ways are best because He sees the whole picture.

When you think you have to take care of things yourself, that God doesn’t care, or doesn’t see what’s happening in your life, when the devil has made you forget how much your God woos you like we discussed in Session One of God’s Love (YouTube Session), this is your verse to hang on to:

Isaiah 35:4- “Say to them that are of a fearful heart [that’s why we run out and get into trouble a lot of times…because we’re fearful ; we’re afraid that God isn’t seeing what people are doing to us and saying about us], Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; he will come and save you.”

Isaiah 35:5-6 says, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.”

Sometimes, unforgiveness makes us so hard hearted that we simply can’t see anything around us but how we were wronged. We can’t hear anything but what they said to us. We can’t think about anything but what we should have said back, or what we will do the next time we have to see them, but forgiveness…leaving the situation in God’s capable hands… opens our eyes and allows us to hear. Isaiah 35 says that we will be able to sing and be refreshed. Forgiving people allows the Spirit to pour Living water over our dry, parched places.

 I’m not saying that God doesn’t use the court system, or other people to right a wrong, but I am saying that it’s up to Him, not us, and not the way we can manipulate things.

Forgiveness is not about letting someone off the hook, it’s about being free.

We are not stupid when we forgive. We are super smart because we are allowing the God of the universe to handle things for us. It’s like He steps in front of us and says, “I’ve got this.”

Micah 7:7 says, “But I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.”

Step Four to forgiveness is knowing that your relationship with God is worth more than whatever you have to forgive. Our beautiful Savior who covers you with His wings every day and night is worth anything.

Psalm 18:16-20 says, “He reached down from heaven and took hold of me; He pulled me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my distress, but the LORD was my support. He brought me out to a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me. The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; He repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.”

Being clean before the Lord is so much better than hanging on to any un-forgiveness. Keeping our Robe of righteousness on (which is Jesus Himself) is so much better than remembering wrongs that seem to be forgotten by everyone but you. Nothing is worth harming our walk with God.

Step Five to forgiveness is trusting our God to be the Judge.

Psalm 75:2 says, “‘When I choose a time, I will judge fairly.’”

Lamentations 3:59-62 says, “LORD, You see the wrong done to me; judge my case. You see all their malice, all their plots against me. LORD, You hear their insults, all their plots against me. The slander and murmuring of my opponents attack me all day long.”

Be assured Your God sees and hears everything! You can rest in His judgment because He already knows all the testimony and all the facts. You don’t have to worry about being heard. He hears you. He wants you to pour your heart out, but not because He doesn’t know what’s going on, it’s because of His love for you. Song of Solomon 2:14 says, “My dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crevices of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.”

That’s why God wants to hear from you. He just loves the sound of your voice.

Do not think that your God does not know what happened to you. Do not listen to that voice in your head that says God will not repay the person that hurt you. Do not believe that you have to be the one to repay, or punish, but do remember that it is in His hands, in His time and needs to be in His way so that you can be free.

Forgiveness is not about being tricked into letting someone off the hook. It’s about being free.

So, as you are surrounded by people this Holiday Season that you can usually avoid remember that forgiveness is about being free. Forgiveness can only come through the Holy Spirit and He wants us to forgive not to let people off the hook, but to rely on Him and trust Him completely with the outcome knowing that we are loved more than we ever realized. Enjoy this Season knowing that even though forgiveness is not easy it’s always worth it.

Seeking Hearts Ministries

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Am I Worth Singing Over?

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Christian encouragement, christian journey, encouragement, falling in love with Jesus, fulfilliment in God, fulfillment, God sings over us, God's love, hope, loneliness, lonely, love, peace, singing, true hope, true peace, ultimate fulfillment, Valentine's Day

As we come to Valentine’s Day this weekend, I can’t help but think of many of my friends who do not have a “traditional” relationship that would entail the whole Valentine’s Day phenomenon. They won’t be getting a card, or flowers, or an amazing box of chocolates and I also have several friends who are in relationships, but the whole Valentine’s Day thing is really bad timing this year.They have shared that everything will feel fake because they simply are not in a very good place. So, in honor of them and many others who just need the reminder, I decided to re-blog this post from last year. Even though Valentine’s is not mentioned directly, it’s a gentle reminder that God is our ultimate Valentine. That may sound cliché, but it’s true. He loves us more than any human could. He fulfills us in ways only He can think of. He designed us to crave Him and those cravings are only wholly satisfied in Him. Rest in the fact that Valentine’s Days come and go, but your God is the same yesterday, today and for ever.

    Sweet Lullabies

Have you ever thought about why we sing lullabies over our children? How did we think to do that? Who was the first human to hum a little tune over their newborn? It seems so natural, but someone had to have thought of it first. Was it Eve? Since she was the mother of all living at the time, did she naturally croon a lullaby over her newborns? Had she sung with God Himself while walking through the Garden?

Or, was Noah the first? As he was cradling his boys in his arms, with destruction and sin all around him, did he look in those innocent newborn eyes and well up in praise to His Father?

Was it Sarah, Abraham’s wife, who first sang to her child? Did her age cause her to hold Isaac a little longer than most first time mothers and she naturally began to sing over him?

Who was that the first lullaby singer? What did they sing? Why did they sing it? Did they feel silly? Did it seem natural? No one knows.

I’m going to tell you a not too well-kept secret – Zephaniah 3:17 says that God Himself sings over us. How beautiful is that? It says, “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” This verse assures us that the God of the universe, the God who holds the world in place with a word He spoke centuries ago, sings over us. How precious a Savior we have!

This verse became very real to me some time ago. For several days in a row, I woke up with a beautiful song rolling around in my head. Most days it was a Christian tune, but one day I remember so specifically was a secular song. When I woke up that morning the song was playing in super stereo in my mind. It was loud! I laid in bed just listening to the words being sung in my head. It was that song by Christina Perri called, “A Thousand Years”. Tears came to my eyes at the beauty of it and I laid there having a full realization of Zephaniah 3:17. I knew that God had sung that song over me all night. I loved that song, but I had never considered relating it to God until that very moment. I knew that God was telling me He has loved me for a thousand years and He would love me for a thousand more. It was a truly impactful moment that I will carry with me for a long time. I knew that the God of the universe had sung a precious love song over me all night and He wanted me to know it!

I think that’s where we get our need to sing lullabies over our children. I think our sweet Lord gave us the desire to sing to our children because He sings over us. He wants us to know the pleasure that it brings Him to sing over us as we sing over our precious ones. God Himself sings over us from the moment of our birth, so why wouldn’t we do the same over our children? In fact, we might even be singing a duet with God. How sweet is that?

So, listen closely.

Pause a moment.

Do you hear Him singing over you?

What song do you need to hear? He’s already singing it.

Do you need peace? Your song today just might be that beautiful old hymn, “He Whispers Sweet Peace to Me”. Do you need love? Your song might be “How He Loves” by David Crowder. Do you need to know that you are not forgotten? Your song today night be “Not Forgotten” by Twila Paris. Whatever you need, your faithful Father knows and He is singing over you this very minute.

So, whether it’s Valentine’s Day, or every day, know that your God loves you. In fact, He cherishes you and He is singing over you.

Lonely?

Seeking Hearts Ministries