Honoring God
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.
Psalm 63:2-5
Choosing to honor God comes from a heart that understands how truly loved one is.
Do you ever just “behold” or marvel at the Lord’s beauty? This could mean many different things to different people and in different seasons of our lives. We could gaze at the Lord for His many wonderful traits like His goodness, His kindness that leads us to repentance, His steadfast love, His mercies that are new every morning. He is slow to anger and rich in love. He forgives us even though we don’t deserve it and does not remember our sins. He is faithful and He is our living hope.
We could look at all of creation that sings the Lord’s praises. The trees of the hills clap their hands. The heavens declare the glory of God. There is nothing like a sunrise or a sunset to show God’s amazing artistry. Every second paints a different, fluid scene before our very eyes, and it is different depending on where we are watching it from. Only our God can “paint” like that! I love the opening lines to the song, “You’re Beautiful” by Shane and Shane: “I see your face in every sunrise. The colors of the morning are inside your eyes. The world awakens in the light of the day. I look up to the sky and say, ‘You’re beautiful’.”
We could look at the various images of God the Hebrew writers used to describe Him – He is a rock, a sun, a shield, light, the bread of life, a place of refuge, a consuming fire, and the bright and morning star. He is both the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God. He is both the door to the sheep pen and the Good Shepherd. He is the true Vine.
We could also marvel at the various names of God. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning, and the end. He is El Roi, the God Who sees me. He is Jehoveh Jireh, the God Who provides. He is El Shaddai, the mighty God. He is Elohim, the Creator. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is Emmanuel, God with us. He is the Comforter and the Counselor.
One of my favorite names for God is Yahweh, the covenant name of God for Israel. It is the name used when God spoke to Moses from the burning bush. Moses asked God what he should say to the Israelites when they ask who sent him. Exodus 3:14 says, “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.’” When the word “Yahweh” is spoken in Hebrew, it sounds like breathing in and breathing out. Pastor Joby Martin of The Church of Eleven 22 says it means, “God is as close to you as your next breath.” I love that!
We could also marvel at what God has done for us. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He loved us enough to die for us when we were dead in our sins and not even pursuing Him. This never ceases to amaze me. I do not deserve such a love as great as this! It is overwhelming to think about.
Not only has He done the big things like dying for our sins and creating the world, but He has performed miracles both in the Bible and in our own lives. He has answered many prayers of mine, and I can look back and see the fingerprints of God all over my life, in the big things and the little things. He knows just when I need to be comforted and He meets me in my pain. He sees me. He hears me, and He knows me intimately. Psalm 139: 17-18 says, “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.” In other words, He thinks about me all the time. Oh, how He loves you and me! Such a love is incomprehensible.
Recently, I watched a video on YouTube called, “The Ache”, an interview with Walter Bruggemann. He said something very eye-opening to me. He said Americans tend to focus on the three big attributes of God: His omnipotence (all powerful), His omniscience (all knowing), and His omnipresence (everywhere present). While all these traits are certainly true of God, these were not the qualities the Israelites and the authors of Scripture focused on. They focused on names like Yahweh and on qualities such as His mercy, His love, His goodness, His faithfulness, and etc. I wonder if we as Americans tend to elevate His power and His knowledge and wisdom because these are the things many Americans strive for – success, power, status, knowledge, wealth, etc. – the American dream. Have we elevated these things so much that we forget about God’s mercy, His kindness towards the poor and needy, and His goodness? Are we forming our view of God into the American dream, and if He does not live up to those standards, do we think He must not be good or He must not be trustworthy and that He does not deserve our praise and honor? Are we valuing our own wants and desires more than His plans for our lives?
My question is this: Do we honor and praise God only for what He can do for us or better yet, what we want Him to do for us? Let’s be honest. Do we sometimes feel like we need to help God answer our prayers by offering Him suggestions and ways He can answer us? Do we hold the answer we want in a higher place of honor than God Himself? I know I have done that many times, and I have had to confess it as pure and simple idolatry. Anything we desire more than God Himself is an idol in our lives, even if it is a good thing. Even if it is something that is in line with His will, like a marriage to be saved or a prodigal child to return to the Lord. If that prayer request is consuming our lives and our thoughts more than God is, we are not making room for God.
This has been an eye opener for me recently. I have been praying for my son to return to the Lord and reject the lifestyle he is choosing for over three years now. There have been many heartbreaking moments in these past three years, and I have had many ideas and suggestions for God of how He could change Kyle’s heart. However, he continues to live in sin, apart from God and completely rejecting Him.
I will admit there are times I have felt utterly devastated and discouraged. Those are the times when I have elevated my hopes and dreams for Kyle above God Himself. You see, God is jealous for me. He is not jealous of me. He is jealous for me. He knows that when our hearts look to other things to satisfy our deepest longings more than Him, we will come away empty. Only He can satisfy those deep, deep soul longings.
This is the reason I worship the LORD, Yahweh, the One Who came near to me and continues to draw me to Himself. A good friend of mine always asks the question: “What is the Lord calling you into in this season of your life?” My answer lately has been, I am running to worship the Lord. I can’t get enough of His worship music. It literally soothes my soul. His Word falls fresh on me every day too. I need to hear His truth over my mind, my heart, and my soul. When I don’t, it does not take much for me to fall apart. He is jealous for my heart. He constantly brings me back to Him. I long to sit at His feet like Mary did in Luke 10:39, “listening to what He said”.
Honoring God above all else means dying to ourselves and our wants. This may sound difficult, and it certainly can be! However, I have learned the hard way that when I do, He gives me the peace that passes all understanding. He never promised we would not have troubles, but He promised He would never leave us – ever! How great is His love for us!
Returning to the passage I shared at the beginning, the Psalmist gives 5 “I will” statements in response to recognizing God’s steadfast love for him:
My lips will praise you
I will bless you as long as I live
I will lift up my hands
My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food
My mouth will praise you with joyful lips
This leads me back to my opening statement:
Choosing to honor God comes from a heart that understands how truly loved one is.
When we truly understand how much He loves us, this is what leads our hearts, our souls, our minds, and our whole beings to fall down and worship Him for Who He is. We can boldly say with John the Baptist: “Behold, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)! He is worthy to be praised! He is so worthy to be praised!
Will you choose to honor the Lord today despite any difficult circumstances you may be facing? Do you believe He is worthy of your praise? Is there something in your life that is keeping you from giving Him the honor He deserves? My prayer for you is that you will take some time to search your heart and see if you are elevating any particular person or situation more than God Himself. If so, I encourage you to confess it before Him, and fall before Him in worship. He is jealous for your heart, and when you choose to honor Him first, He will soothe and satisfy your soul because He loves you!