The Last Thing People Want

7.11.2011

The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread... (Isaiah 8:13 NIV)

I hold that God is not at all as we assume Him to be. I contend we would that God be like us: fickle and capricious, easily manipulated; but overall friendly and jolly like the Ghost of Christmas Present in the Dickens novel. I believe many would have God be a chum, Someone to pal around with.

I also hold that the Devil himself doesn’t really understand God either; I think he fancies God to be Someone other that He really is. Otherwise, why would he try to wrench the Kingdom out of God’s hands and ‘do it better’?

Isaiah the prophet received bad news from God; bad news in the sense that God, loving and caring, was about to destroy His own people because they had rejected Him. The verse above caught my attention this morning; it made me stop and think.

Last night on Facebook was some joking around about the Casey Anthony trial. The reference was a photo-shopped picture of Anthony and OJ and the punch line was: Who says Match.com doesn't get it right?? A friend of mine commented, “Thankfully justice wins out in the end because our God is a just God.” I think that’s the last thing people want: God to be just. And as the verse says above, I think the last Person people want to dread is God. We want God to be merciful, not just.

What do we do with a just God whose character and Name are impugned by the actions and testimonies of His people? What do we do with a just God who says, “If you want to be really afraid, don’t’ forget about Me. If you want to be uneasy queasy with dreadful knots in your stomach, think about Me.”

I want to know Him but I want to know Him who says, The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread… I either take all of Him or none of Him.

Father in Heaven,
Reading Your word sometimes makes me queasy. Thinking about Your justice causes me to wince because I know what I know about me. I thank You for Jesus and I praise You for Your mercy. I pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit this day to remember Who You really are; may my life and conduct bring honor and glory to Your holy Name, amen.