Do you ever feel like shouting at the news “who’s in charge of this?!” Or, “who decided THAT was a good idea?” Sometimes, we can find ourselves asking the same about God. Is He really up there? Who is on the throne? Is God truly in charge?
Sometimes, we start thinking and acting like WE are in charge. I am showing my age by thinking first of Will Smith and the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air.” The show’s song saying “parents just don’t understand” can still pop into my head sometimes.
Our media, our movies, our books, and our culture exalt thousands of heroes and heroines who occupied a throne, battling good vs. evil. It is a theme woven into our hearts since the beginning of time.
We dream to be in charge, strong, courageous, overcoming, powerful. Dating myself again, but didn’t anyone else want to be Xena, Warrior Princess?
Or was it just the tomboy in me?
What about current characters ~ do any of these strike a cord in you?
Game of Thrones anyone?
What about the recent remake of the first female super hero:
We even have actual, living royalty we tend to be fascinated with:
We are saturated with stories of rising to power, taking power, wielding power. So much so that I wonder if sometimes the dream we’ve been pursuing these 21-days doesn’t lean towards these power or fame fantasies. For me, the tendency to slip into self-driven goals is easy.
My “day job” as a law professor requires that I present myself as one in charge, one with superior knowledge. It’s “my class.” I expect that students will meet my expectations and requests of them. This daily thrust into the secular world of power and prestige can cloud my true position in the Kingdom of God.
This week, however, most of America was captivated by true power:
We watched, taken in by the sheer force of hurricane Irma. We waited, we prepared, we prayed. These past several weeks, with hurricanes Harvey and Irma wreaking havoc that was unstoppable by human hands, the nation was reminded of the power of God.
You could call it the wrath of “Mother Nature” if you want to, but when I look at the hurricane over the ocean and pictures of it making landfall, I can only feel the very breath of God and fight the urge to curl up into a ball before His might:
If the Lord our God did not hold back the water on this earth, we would all cease to be. We are so tiny and powerless under the hand of God.
Yet, we can hardly resist tiptoeing up the steps and sitting ourselves on the throne of our daily lives. We will take charge of our destinies! We will work hard to make our dreams come true!
America loves this attitude. We can do anything if we work hard enough, if we put our minds to it. This attitude is dangerous. God will never allow you to obtain your true calling if you put yourself on His throne.
In The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer wrote, “[the throne] is His by every right in earth or heaven. While we take to ourselves the place that is His, the whole course of our lives is out of joint. Nothing will or can restore order till our hearts make the great decision: God shall be exalted above (page 108).”
While we spend this 21-day journey in pursuit of our dreams, let us not forget that our greatest dream should be the pursuit of God’s glory. Let us fight to remain humble before God, truly seeking His will for our gifts, talents, and dreams:
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the Lord; The humble will hear it and rejoice. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.” ~ Psalm 34:1-3
We must surrender the throne of our dreams to the power of God. We must use our dreams to boast not in ourselves, but in God. Each day we should endeavor to magnify God, not ourselves. All day long, our desire should be to exalt the name of Jesus together as Christians.
O God, I pray that it would be so! That your daughters would be powerful dream-seekers for the sake of your name and in humble service to You and Your Kingdom.
Fifth Assignment: Find a picture that illustrates the power of God to you. Print it and write Psalm 34:1-3 on it. Post it somewhere you will see it as you pursue your dream.
And, keep your fanny off that throne! Keep it empty of you and your desires, reserved only for the King of Kings:
That’s so inspiring Prof. Erickson. Just what I needed to read today.