Category Archives: God’s character

God’s Balancing Act

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In communicating with my children today about their father on this 5th anniversary of his death, several of them asked if I was sad or happy in my rememberng. The accurate answer is “yes”. Sad in wishing Nate was still here, but happy because of a very special photo that came my way via text message.

British Baby 5Hans and Katy, busy with their young family across the ocean, sent a good report about their unborn baby by way of a picture taken today during their first ultrasound. When I opened the photo, I gasped a bit of delight over the high quality and good angle of this image, the perfect profile of a new family face.

Hans and Katy’s 5th child, my 10th grandchild, is expected in May of 2015, and seeing that little person so clearly today was a joy that balanced out the lingering sadness about Nate. Rather than having a roller-coaster day of ups and downs, it was a day planted between the extremes. And isn’t that the way God usually does things?

When we receive bad news, it’s often followed by something good. The opposite is true, too, good coming first, and bad after that. Our heavenly Father works at balancing our days, and if we watch for it, we’ll see it. But that part, the watching part, can be a problem. Making note of the bad things is easy. We don’t miss a one. Noticing the good ones doesn’t come as readily. Why is that?

Maybe it’s because in our deepest hearts we think we ought to experience one good thing after another, and when something bad happens, we feel we have every right to object. “Why did God let that happen? How could he be so harsh with me? What did I do to deserve this?”

At the root of our reasoning, though, is a pride that says, “If I was God, I would have done that differently.” In other words, “I think I know better than God on this issue.”

Never.

Admittedly, it’s difficult to accept the bad stuff with a good attitude. I know I’ll be working on that for the rest of my life. Just this afternoon while running errands, tears came while I was driving, when I recognized a way in which I’d acted pridefully toward the Lord by thinking the opposite of the way I should have. I need much more practice, and thankfully God is willing to give it.

Just right

And so, as this emotional day ends, God has me solidly in the middle of sorrow and joy, bad and good, sad and happy, in a balance that feels just right.

 “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2

Who are you?

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When a family is expecting a new baby, each one speculates about who that baby might be…. for 9 long months. By the time D-day arrives, everybody’s dying of curiosity to find out: Is it a he or she? What color hair, eyes? How big or small? How long or short?

#10Immediately after the birth, those questions are answered, and we begin the process of getting acquainted with someone new.

Our extended family has started that delightful process this week with the birth of Mary and Bervin’s 10th grandchild, Harrison Arthur Ytterberg. On Thursday we learned “it” was a boy weighing 8 pounds 9 ounces with light brown hair, blue eyes, and features much like his older brother Beck.

But our guessing continues, and we wonder who is hidden inside that little body. Will Harrison be mild-mannered or tantrum-prone? Will he be a people-person or a loner? Talkative or quiet? Mechanically inclined? A good student? Artistically gifted? Only time will tell.

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Questions answeredMost of us view each new baby as a blank slate and expect good things from him or her. We think the best of every newborn and ascribe no negative traits. So an interesting question is, why can’t we view every new adult acquaintance the same way?

When we’re introduced to an adult we’ve never met, our tendency is to take one look and assume we know all about them, quickly supposing facts that most likely aren’t true. Then, based on our inaccurate assessment, we choose to either show favoritism or partiality. God frowns on this kind of judging.

Still, most of us are prone to peg people based on what we see at first glance. We “size ‘em up” and think we can somehow land on accuracy just by looking. The truth is every person is far more complicated than that. As we get to know someone, little by little we usually find out we were wrong in those first radical jumps to conclusions, and we feel ashamed of ourselves. God is the only completely accurate Judge of who a person is, because he can judge thoroughly, inside and out.

First Chronicles 28:9 says,“The Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought.” As human beings we could never hope to see into someone like that, and yet we act as if we can. It would be better if we’d let God be the only insta-judge, taking a wait-and-see approach to decide what we think.

Harrison ArthurAs we watch little Harrison grow and change, may we never peg him prematurely but wait patiently to see who God has made this brand new person to be.

God does not show favoritism. Acts 10:34

Thank you.

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Those of us who started attending church when we were on the cradle roll are happy to talk about God. We’re usually faithful to pray, and we’re even comfortable with praying out loud if asked. After all, Jesus became our childhood friend as we met him through flannel-graph stories in Sunday school. Talking to him was much like talking to any of our other friends.

FlannelgraphThen we grew older and learned there was more to it than that. We realized God wasn’t on a par with any of our other friends but was unique, superior, someone who merited reverence and awe, and the utmost of respect.

Eventually we were taught that to fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and surely approaching God ought to be done as wisely as possible. Did that mean he wanted us to be afraid of him when we prayed? If so, then why did he tell us to “come as little children” and “come boldly to the throne of grace?” Can we come to him that way if we’re afraid?

At the very least, fearing God probably means respecting his authority and power. He’s the ultimate in both categories and can do anything he wants with anything he’s created, which includes us. If we’re on his bad side, he is to be feared indeed, since he will judge all of mankind. He also wants us to revere him as God of gods, holy and perfect.

While I was contemplating what might be the wisest way to approach the Lord, probably making it more complicated than it needed to be, I heard someone pray a wise prayer. Sandy was asked to pray at the conclusion of our women’s Bible study today. We’d had a discussion about true wisdom and fearing God. If I’d been the one praying, I probably would have started by begging God to give us more wisdom, but not Sandy.

ThankfulnessShe started by thanking God for who he is and continued to list reasons all of us were thankful for him. The middle of her prayer was more gratitude, one thing after another, and she concluded with a final series of thank you’s. Her prayer was all about the Lord and nothing about us.

How unusual, I thought, to pray for several minutes without ever asking for anything. It was simply thank you… thank you… thank you.

And it was wise.

“The Lord said… ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so’.” (Deuteronomy 4:10)