GOD IS STILL GOD. . .EVEN. . .! #1

At a wedding rehearsal, the groom said to the officiating minister "I'll make a deal with you. If during the vows you'll leave out all of that love, honor and cherish stuff, I'll give you a hundred dollars." He slipped a hundred-dollar bill into the minister's hand and walked away with a smile. The next day during the ceremony at the time of the groom's vows, the minister asked him "Do you promise to bow down before your wife, to take her breakfast in bed, and to fulfill her every desire?" The groom gulped in astonishment and replied in a weak voice, "I do." Later he whispered in the minister's ear, "I thought we had a deal?" The minister handed him back his money and said, "Your wife made me a much better offer!"

We may smile or laugh at this story, but I'm hoping that in the topic of this blog we will recognize there is NO DEAL TO BE MADE! My topic is the truth of God still being God in the midst of life with all its turmoil. In the chaos, hurt, frustration, disappointment, struggle, loss, heartache, as well as in the joys and victories. This truth is no joke or laughing matter. NO, it is very serious and many times it requires an enduring faith. Again, there is NO DEAL TO BE MADE!! We certainly do not want to make any deal with the devil that would even come close to minimizing the truth that GOD IS STILL GOD IN EVERY SITUATION AND CIRCUMSTANCE WE FACE IN LIFE!

The truth is that GOD IS STILL GOD regardless of all the lies the devil tells and all the deceptions he orchestrates. GOD IS STILL GOD despite all the arguments set forth by atheists, scoffers, the self-sufficient, agnostics, and the denials of some scientists. It is true HE IS STILL GOD even if governments oppose that truth, and the mocking of the "learned" make their voices heard. GOD IS STILL GOD! The Bible declares it, faith verifies it, experience teaches it and true followers of Jesus adhere to it! God's eternal existence does not hinge on our belief! He brings to nothing the "wisdom" of this world! He both overthrows nations, and raises up governments that will uphold His order in full accordance with His will and purpose! He frustrates the "wise" and brings all thier efforts to discredit Him, His Word, and His will to absolutely nothing!

In this blog, we're going to understand that: 1) GOD IS STILL GOD in spite of all opposition and attempted contradiction, 2) why He's worthy to be praised, and 3) the dangers of underestimating Him! That's why I have titled this blog GOD IS STILL GOD. . .EVEN. . . .! Let's dive in!

GOD IS WORTHY TO BE PRAISED! The Bible proclaims it!

"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness" (Psalm 48:1)

"Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous; for His praise is comely (fitting) for the upright" (Psalm 33:1)

"And He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God; many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord" (Psalm 40:3).

"Let the people praise You, O God; let all the people praise You" (Psalm 67:3).

"Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men" (Psalm 107:8).

"Seven times a day do I praise You because of Your righteous judgments" (Psalm 119:164).

"Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name for ever and ever" (Psalm 145:2).

The Book of Psalms is really a handbook on Prayer and Praise and we all would do well to saturiate our minds and our hearts in it, for it repeatedly declares God is Worthy to be Praised!

In a practical sense, WHY is praise to God so important? Well, let's just consider a few reasons.

1) Coming before God in praise reminds us of His Hugeness and our Smallness. "For He is our God, and we are the sheep of His pasture, the sheep under His care" (Psalm 95:2). "Know that the LORD, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of his pasture"

(Psalm 100:3).

2) Coming before God in praise causes us to rejoice in His Power and recognize our Weaknesses. "He said to me (Paul), 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest upon me" (II Corinthians 12:9).

3) Coming before God in praise enables us to perceive His Glory and rejoice in His Majesty! "Then Moses said, 'Now show me Your glory.' And the LORD said, 'I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My name, the LORD, in your presence. . .' (Exodus 33:18-23).

4) Coming before God in praise gives us the sense of His Perfection and of our Unworthiness. "He has shown O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you" (I Peter 5:6). "Therefore. . ."God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6).

We may consider ourselves to be strong, powerful, wise and fully capable of running our own lives, making our own decisions and showing people who is "the boss"! But standing near a huge and distinct mountain range that God created quickly reminds us of how small and utterly helpless we truly are. "When I look at Your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him. . . .?" (Psalm 8:3-4).

Even at times when we don't actually see or feel God's hand of blessing, we still praise God for WHO He is and for ALL He has done for us in the recent past! "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits" (Psalm 68:19). "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (I Thessalonians 5:18).

GOD IS WORTHY TO BE PRAISED IN GOOD TIMES AND IN BAD TIMES!

Regardless of our circumstances, we praise our God! He is who He is, Almighty God, and that is more than enough to warrant our praise. "You are the LORD, You alone! You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and You preserve all of them, and the host of heaven worships You" (Nehemiah 9:6). "I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God. . .that there is none besides Me; I am the LORD, and there is no other" (Isaiah 45:8). I believe that followers of Jesus should create a vocabulary of praise using Scripture to affirm their praise, worship and genunine gratitude to God for who He is. You see, WHO GOD IS forms the bedrock for WHAT HE DOES! So, praise to Him for Who He is transcends our circumstances. Often we use the term "Mountain" to denote our victories and the term "valley" to describe our bad times. I am reminded of a Southern Gospel hymn written by Tracy Darty and perfromed by artists like Lynda Randle and the McKameys. Its title is "GOD ON THE MOUNTAIN". Some of the lyrics go like this:

"Life is easy, when you're up on the mountain, And you've got peace of mind, like you've never known.

But when things change and you're down in the valley, Don't lose faith, for you're never alone.

We talk of faith when we're up on the mountain, But talk comes so easy when life's at its best.

But in the valley of trials and temptations, That's when faith is really put to the test.

CHORUS:

And the God on the mountain is still God in the valley, When things go wrong, He'll make them right! And the God of the good times is still God in the bad times. The God of the day is still God in the night!"

IF YOU HAVE A MUSIC APP, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO LISTEN TO THAT HYMN!

GOD IS WORTHY TO BE PRAISED NO MATTER HOW HE ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS!

You see, God answers all of the prayers of those who love and serve Him! Sometimes and many times, His answer is YES; other times His answer is NO; and at other times His answer is NOT YET. They are ALL HIS ANSWERS! In the Book of Job in the Old Testament, Job stated this: "Shall we accept only good from God and not also accept adversity and (even) disaster?" (Job 2:10). Naomi, in the Book of Ruth, whose name means "pleasant", lost her husband and two sons in death, causing her to rename herself "Mara" which means "bitter". Let's be careful we do not let our hurts turn into bitterness! She did not see that God would later make her King David's grandmother and be an ancestor to Jesus, the Messiah! Joseph, who we read about in Genesis, was sold into slavery, by his brothers and was literally imprisoned in Egypt by Potapher, later was used of God to becoming prime minister of Egypt.

For sure, God's ways are mysterious. My mother used to say "God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform!" How right she was! God knows what He is doing and how exactly to go about doing it! All things work out for the good of His followers SO THAT we might be conformed to the very image of His Son Jesus Christ (Romans 8:28-29). Let us purposefully recount both His "YES", "NO" and "NOT YET" answers and give Him praise and thanksgiving for them ALL, and then let go of the "WHY LORD?".

GOD IS WORTHY TO BE PRAISED EVEN WHEN POPULAR OPINION REJECTS HIM!

This world is no friend to help us on in our pursuit of righteousness, godliness and holiness! The devil, the world and the flesh war against our spiritual lives constantly. We live in an ever-increasing godless and hostile culture. Popular opinion rejects Jesus the Messiah! In the days of the Prophet Elijah, there were only 7,000 out of millions that obeyed God. Paul said in Romans 9:27 that "only a remnant shall be saved." Don't be surprised if you are in the minority! But remember: GOD IS STILL GOD ON THE MOUNTAIN AND STILL GOD IN THE VALLEY!