We have been back in America for 2 months now. Life has returned to a different sort of normalcy. Anna is back working as a nurse & I have pivoted into my second career as a… grocery shopper and delivery driver.
The Lord has been so good to us in this season. We have been blessed with unlimited time with each other, a place to stay, the chance to spend intentional time with our family, the ability to help others, and time to dream.
But more than that, it has allowed us to spend time meditating on who God is and who we are in relation to him.
This season of COVID-19 and social isolation has brought so many negatives. But it has also brought countless positive externalities. It has (arguably) slowed crime, reduced pollution, quelled violence & unified people. One thing that has stood out to me is how united we have become in gratitude. Gratitude for people like our nurses and our doctors. But also people like grocery store employees.
I found myself at a Cub Foods checkout line (for maybe the 4th or 5th time that day) and, after checking out, I genuinely thanked the cashier. He was an older gentleman and I wanted him to know that I appreciated him working in a busy, stressful environment despite the potential risks he faced. A job that likely never received genuine appreciation from anyone prior to March 2020 has now become a very appreciated role in society.
“Thank you so much for what you do.”
While well intentioned, I immediately realized the problem with this. When we thank our nurses, our doctors, our delivery drivers, and our retail workers, we are generally thanking them for what they do, rather than thanking them for who they are.
One could generalize and go as far as to postulate that, as humans, we thank people for what they do for us. As much of a shame it is that we treat strangers – or even those we “love” – in this way, it is even more of a shame that all too often we treat our creator God this way.
While I tend to think I live a life in admiration of who God is, I am frequently guilty of thanking him for what he does for me, rather than simply thanking him for who he is.
“Thank you for loving me so much that you chose to suffer and die for me.”
“Thank you for blessing me with _____.”
“Thank you for leading me and for never letting me down.”
“Thank you for listening to me and for being with me.”
God literally tells us over and over again in scripture to come to him with all of our prayers, petitions, thanksgiving & requests. He wants those from us. Because of that, I have ZERO doubt that God LOVES each of these prayers we pray. But how much greater is it when we pray prayers like these?
“God, you are good.”
“You are so powerful. You are in control.”
“God, I trust you.”
“You are so holy, God.”
Worshipping God can have a lot of forms, but one of the truest forms of worship is simple adoration. Adoration for who God is. Even if God never does anything for you, are you still able to worship him for who he is? Even if you don’t see his (earthly) blessings manifest in your life, are you able to thank him for being good because that is his unending character? Even if you never see a “miracle”, are you able to tell him he is powerful?
My challenge to us in this season is to start thanking God – and our fellow human beings – for who they are, rather than for what they do for us. May we encourage our families and friends by affirming their characters, traits & abilities – whether they are manifested within the context of our relationship or not. May we worship and adore our God for his character, whether or not we are seeing it firsthand in our lives at this present time.
“Day and night, they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.’”
Revelation 4:8b
