Raise Both Hands

We had some awesome texts this morning again.

They were:
Old Testament: Isaiah 55:6-9
Epistle: Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30
Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16

For today, I'm going to take a look at Isaiah 55:6-9, simply because verse 9 is one of my favorite "cling-to" verses that I often refer to in my time with God.

Life is full of deceit. Let's face it.

In many teenage TV shows and movies, you'll find the typical story of the not-so-popular-boy who asks the very-popular girl to prom, she says yes, and then stands him up on prom night while all of her friends laugh.

Do we get used to it?

I suppose, after we've been tricked over and over again, we sometimes come to expect it. But that doesn't mean that the pain and destruction, the devastation, it brings get any easier.

I've been deceived before, yeah. The biggest time I've been deceived has been recently about 8 months ago when I was stabbed in the back as I realized a friend had been lying to me for months and then turned against me.

Yeah, it hurt. It sucked. It brought a huge amount of destruction, devastation, and pain into my life at a time where I really couldn't handle it.

But it's because of situations like that, people in this world who do that, some people, (including me in the past), are so skeptical of God.

But if you take out the text of Isaiah 55, and look really closely at it, you may realize that God is not out to deceive us.

It is not the goal of God to ignore us, to fool us, or to try to play tricks with our minds.

Do you disagree? Think about this. God gave His Son to die for us. Is that the kind of God that would deceive us, or play tricks on us?

You may say, "Well, what about my problems, what am I supposed to do with those?"

I know you have them. We all do. Sometimes we underestimate what God can to, and we end up trying to overcompensate.

But, consider this. How can we raise a palm of one hand and ask God for help, but yet, use the other one to continue to sin, mistrust, and try to overcompensate what we think God is not capable of doing?

How can we ask for help, act like we totally rely on God, and then say, "God, you can bless me, even though I'm going to continue to go against Your will."

And that's where verse 9 comes in- "My ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."

God is not trying to deceive us. He knows far more about what's best for us and for our lives than what we do. His thoughts and ways are so much higher, so much more incomprehensible, that we could not even begin to understand them.

If there's anything that you take away from this post of reflection, take this: God is not here to deceive you. Let go of your sinful actions and your overcompensation in your hand or hands. Raise both to God our Father, whose ways and thoughts are higher than ours. Trust Him.

Blessings:
-Friday night was so much fun. Two of my close friends and I went garage-saling, and I found a lot of things I can use in my classroom, all for under $10! Then we had a fantastic meal and wonderful conversation at the restaurant. It was a great evening.

-Saturday I got a ton of little things done. Last night, I started out with two friends, and we were in a lounge watching the movie Up (which is a great movie!). Anyway, after the movie we were just talking, and then another guy showed up, and before long 3 other friends showed up, and the pattern kept going. Before long, the lounge was full-standing room only, and we were all screaming with hysteria. It was so much fun, and I love it when all those unexpected guests arrive to have a good time, even though they didn't know we were there- just happened to be passing by!

-Today's worship service was great!

-Also, after this morning, the fall weather was just perfect!

-I went to my co-op's house to plan for this week, and we had a nice conversation!

-This evening, I went to the library to print something, ended up running into a friend who graduated and is here visiting, and I sat and talked for an hour longer than I planned to stay. It was worth it! Then, on the way back, I ran into another friend who works at a pizza place. She just happened to have garlic cheese breadsticks, and offered me some! :)