When I was a young man, long before I recognized the person of Jesus Christ, I tried to use Christ as a genie in a bottle.    A tn example was when I was driving the large John Deere tractors and got stuck.

I would be stuck because I hadn't paid attention.  We would start the years crops as early as possible so it turn they could be harvested before the winter's snow hit the northern plains.  There would be low spots that were still filled  with the winter run-off, an d my dad would warn me every morning to keep clear of those areas.

Ofcourse, I would get  on the tractor, forget anything about dad,  get too closeto the water and the huge tractor would become stuck.  Panic would gripe me since I know I was in trouble if Dad had to bring another tractor to pull me out.  I would try every trick with the track to get traction and at the same time start negotations with God for Him to get me out.

The negotations went something like this.  "God, get me out of this mess and I'll serve you forever and pray every night."   And if I was lucky one of my tricks would break the tractor free and the day would go one. I was lucky I thought because I found a way out.   Oh, my pleas to God were long forgotten and any thought of He'd helped put aside.
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I'm much older now, and have known His grace for decades.  I do pray every night and I do serve Him.   However, I must admit when I still get stuck, I am much more apt to turn to Him than when there are going great.  Then when I'm freed, I don't always give Christ the thanks he deserves.  I feel like I'd freed myself, and then do something dumb and get stuck again.  Why, sometimes, because the times were good and I forgot His instructions and got too close to trouble.

He is with us through the good and the bad, and I pray I keep Him in my sight in the good as much as the bad. 

Has this ever happen to you?

God's Response "I am who I am"

 On of the most interesting encounters between a man and the one true God was Moses on the mount.

Moses asks what seems to be a simple question  "Who should I tell them sent me?"  and God responded "I am who I am"

It's interesting since the Jewish thought was if you knew a person's name you would hold a certain control over that person.  Why?  Because if you knew their name you could define them.  

Think about it.  When you hear a certain person's name you can get an impression of that person even before you meet them.   Norma could be thought of as a middle age woman, or Chuck as a meat and potato man.  I won't go on since your experience with a certain person with a certain name will define what you think of others.  When you finish  "The Kingdom Land" who will have new  impressions of the names Erik and Laura and John.

Now back to Moses.  It could be said that Moses was trying to grasp or trick God by putting Him  in a box and then being able to go back the the Jewish followers and say "Hey I know who God is"  When Moses returned to the people no one needed to be told Moses had talked with God because of the mere appearance of Moses (side note: people who have walked with God will appeared different to those who see them)   God would have nothing to do with Motses' attempt..  God is so much bigger, so much holier, so much more than we could ever fathom that we simply can not put God in a box.

In times of confusion; He is.    In times of stress; He is.   In times when we think we know exactly what God is doing or should be doing;  He is.

I woud suggest that we give up the quest to figure out God.  . Yes, we know He is love.  Yes, we know He is holy and faithful, but those are parts of the great "I am" not us explaining exactly how He should act.

So what?   So the next time you're confused, or frustrated or feeling abandoned or overwhelmed simply remember one thing.  He is  which includes all that moment needs to be  conquered.
Rather than coming up with a diagram of how God will act, let's simply know He is, and He definately is sufficient to hold us within His grace.

What do you think?