The LORD Reigns

"But the LORD is in his holy temple;

let all the earth be silent before him."

Habakkuk 2:20

The child sticks his lower lip out and crosses his arms in front of him, stamping his foot for good measure.  

"I want candy!"

His face turns red with frustration.

As I watch the scene unfold before me in the check out line at our local supermarket, I pray that the mother will stand firm in this battle of the wills.  

"Okay, son, I'll give it to you this time.  But you need to stop acting up!"  she says, adding a slap to the back of the head for good measure.

There is nothing worse than a little child who is in control.  In reality, there is nothing scarier for the child than to be in control.  Children need boundaries to be enforced and guidance to be lovingly dispensed in order to thrive and grow.  

I am no different than a child.  Even though I think I like to be in control, if God were to really put all sovereignty into my hands, I would crumble.  I need His boundaries, guidance and grace.  I need Him to be on the throne!

Despite the fact that I constantly put things before Him, denying Him His proper place in my heart, He is still in His holy temple.  He is reigns.  He is still God.  

Approachable

I recently watched Anna and the King, a movie based upon the diaries of Anna Leonowens who was hired by the King of Siam during the 1860s to tutor his oldest son.  She soon found that Siamese protocol dictated that all would bow before the king, no one would look him in the eye and directly approaching the monarch was definitely forbidden. 


One sweeping scene showed hundreds of subjects kneeling with their forehead to the floor before their king when suddenly, the sound of little footsteps running through the palace grounds could be heard.  Then the small form of a little boy became visible as he ran toward the king.  Without hesitation or the slightest bit of fear, the lad climbs the steps surrounding the throne and clambers onto his father's lap.  The king is not at all offended, gladly bending low to hear the whispers of his son.


As heir to the throne, this king's son was immune to the usual code of behavior.  He had rights and privileges that no one else possessed, such as direct access to the king.  In the same way, I am an heir as a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ and can, ". . .approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."  (Hebrews 4:16)


That's the amazing thing about God.  He is powerful, mighty and just, but because of his great love for me, He is approachable.  I don't have to wait until He's in a good mood, or give Him some time to get caught up on His work, or make sure I've been properly cleaned up.  God accepts me as I am, when I need Him and without preconditions.  As His daughter, He is always accessible; I can clamber up onto His lap anytime I need His full attention.   When I come to Him, He will give me plenty of mercy and grace to get through the difficulties I am facing.


God is in His holy temple, but thanks to the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, I am allowed in there, too.

Available

One of the great things about serving as a full-time mother and homemaker is that I am available.  Most of the time things are quiet as I go about my business, taking care of necessary duties.  Suddenly, a crisis occurs and I am needed on the spot.  A knee is skinned, a heart is crushed or a fight breaks out.  As a 24-7 on-call mother, I step in and take care of the problem; bandaging the owie, encouraging the broken heart and breaking up the skirmish.  

Thankfully, God is always available to hear my prayers.  He is never too busy to listen to my problems, calm my fears or encourage me with His loving care. Even more, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him."  1 John 5:14-15

Even though God is the supreme ruler of the universe, He will always hear the things I say to Him that please Him.  Since He hears these requests, and it falls within His will, He will give me what I ask for.  Now, it may not look like what I had in mind, kind of like the time I was talking to God about how nice it would be to have a nice bench in our backyard.  The next day, my daughter drug this ugly old coffee table home that she had salvaged out of a neighbor's garbage. She then told me of her plans to convert it into a bench for the garden.  God had given me what I asked for in a way I had not imagined. 

When God puts something on my heart, like to pray for a daughter to develop a hunger for God's Word, I can count on the fact that He will honor that request.  It may not happen in my timing or in the way I expected, but God will answer that prayer.

God is in His holy temple, but I have open lines of communication with Him, making the prayers that please Him powerful and effective.  (James 5:16) 

In Attendance 

Children performing in school plays or musical performances often look out in the crowd to search for their parent or other loved one.  Knowing someone is there for them gives them confidence to do their best.  

Likewise, when I am living my life, going through difficult times and hard things, it is good to know that God is always with me.  As David said, "You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. . . Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence?"  (Psalm 139:5,7)

There is no place that God's continuous presence is more evident than in nature. As Ralph Waldo Emerson penned, "Nature is too thin a screen; the glory of the omnipresent God bursts through everywhere."

 Witnessing the unfolding of a small, insignificant rose bud into an elegant, glorious bloom points to the hand of God.  Observing the miraculous metamorphosis of a single seed into a large fruit bearing plant gives testimony to His presence.  Watching the tender, loving care of a mother bird for her babies illustrates the love God has for us.  

Knowing that God is with me when I face the angry loved one, cope with stresses that threaten to break me, or deal with the consequences of someone else's actions gives me strength.  I am not in this fight alone; "If God is for (me), who can be against (me)?"  (Romans 8:31)

God is in His holy temple, but nothing can separate me from His love

I am thankful that the LORD reigns on His throne.  Even though I want to be in control, I need Him to be Lord of my life.  As His child, I have found that He is approachable, available and in constant attendance.  Yes, my God reigns!

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I will remember that God's holiness and sovereignty does not rely on my worthiness. 

How do I forget that I can come boldly to Him any time I want?

When do I tend to panic, forgetting that God has my back?