As
I asked God how I could trust Him more, He used my teammate, Victoria, to
reveal that trust will come as I spend more time with Him. It’s not that I
haven’t had time with the Lord, just that since returning to the busy, sensory
overloaded, abundance filled American culture my time with God has seemed
“surfacey� on occasion. It becomes natural to trust God when you are living in
the middle of nowhere, off a $1.25 per meal, in a village where people 
don’t
speak your language, where you are expected to give a sermon with 10 minutes
notice, or pray for miraculous healing as you hold the persons hands and have
no other apparent option other than rely on Him. That may seem rough, but in my
opinion, having a complete dependence on God is much more difficult in “the
land of plenty� (a.k.a. America).
So,
after my conversation with Victoria, I approached God and as I contemplated the
subject more, God gave me these thoughts:
I do
need to be spending more time with the Lord. Not because I feel guilty or that
I have deprived God of something He needs. I
need Him. I’m sure He takes pleasure in our seeking Him out, but God is
lacking in nothing. He does not require our praise to fuel His glory. Besides, God
has a multitude of angels who continually praise Him. (Revelations
5:11-12)
(11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels,
numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They
encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In
a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!� )
He
does not require my praise. I am the one who benefits from the arrangement. I am the one who has something to gain by
continually pursuing a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God. If I
don’t do it there is no need for guilt or shame; those are not from God. Guilt
and shame are devices used to attempt to fit a wedge between God and I. Lies
that are designed to continually push me away from the one who can satisfy my
every need for love and acceptance.
I
am challenged to go deeper, pray harder, and praise freely. I hope someone reading this will be inspired to
approach God with praise, not out of
duty, but out of sincere gratitude. Not out of a desire to please God or to
get something from Him, but out of contentment and joy. When that happens,
words cannot describe the encounter you’ll have with God.
