GOD SHOWS US CLEARLY WHO HE IS

Keyword CLEARLY (adj): without any question; assuredly, certainly, definitely

They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Romans 1:19-20 NLT

Late again, and these excuses run through my mind:

I couldn’t find my keys.

I had to stop for gas.

I hit every red light.

Maybe true, but not necessarily good excuses. None of these make up for missing part of a meeting or making someone wait. And none of them would have made me late if I had gotten up earlier, been a bit more organized, or left on time.

Excuses become part of our pressure-filled days. We don’t want to be at fault, to be blamed when most of the time we are doing the best we can. I laugh with my friends as we playfully exaggerate and find ways to justify our less-than responsible choices…

A second trip to Starbucks? Coffee is supposed to be good for us, right?

But it’s really not funny when we make excuses for not trusting God with our whole hearts.

Why do we hesitate to bring everything to Jesus? These questions seem to overshadow our faith sometimes:

Does he care? and Can he help?

Here are a few of our excuses:

·      My problems seem small compared to the chaos going on in the world.

·      I haven’t been praying/reading my Bible/going to church as much lately–he might be disappointed in me.

·      He didn’t answer the way I wanted him to last time I asked for help.

·      I can’t see him or hear him clearly right now.

Clearly, God cares more than we can ever imagine. We can find so many examples in the Bible–especially in the Gospels–that describe how much he cared about every single person regardless of their status. I think of how he loved his imperfect disciples, how he welcomed people to eat with him that no one else would, how he cried with his friends who were grieving.

Clearly, God will help us every time we ask. The Bible is full of stories of how God helped his people and answered their prayers in miraculous and surprising ways. He was always faithful to bring strength to battles, healing and comfort in sickness, peace in times of fear, and wisdom in times of confusion. When Jesus died and rose again to save every single person who would ever believe in him, he sent his Holy Spirit to continue this helping work.

But even if we didn’t have these hundreds of stories and promises in our Bibles, we would still have every reason to trust him.

All we have to do is look up and look around.

When we truly experience the magnificence of the earth and sky and everything in them, we can’t help but believe that God is all-powerful, wildly creative, and incredibly good.

Just for today, let’s choose one beautiful thing that God has created for us. Let’s pause for a moment as we see, hear, taste, or touch his glory and breathe in the reassurance that God does care and he will help.

Dear Jesus, please forgive me for my lack of trust and my excuses. I want to believe that you care deeply about me and that you are faithful to help with whatever I need. Please open my eyes to see your power and creativity more clearly today. I invite you into every single detail of my life. Amen.