Luann Prater
"The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him." Exodus 15:2 (NIV)
"He's really big and tall," she said.
This six year-old had never heard of Superman before visiting the towering blue and red 200 foot figure in Metropolis, Illinois. She didn't know that he was an action hero; he just looked like a rigid statue to her. She didn't know that millions before her had watched him rescue Lois Lane again and again. She didn't know he was from the planet Krypton and could fly. The tall, rigid statue was her reality of Superman.
Then it hit me – we often view God through the same limited vision. Even though His Word tells us He is:
El Elyon - God Most High
El - The Strong One
Jehovah - I AM
Jehovah-Rapha - The Lord Who Heals
El Shaddai - the All Sufficient One
…we often just imagine Him as a statue. If we have never trusted Him to supply our needs, heal us, or be our strength, we just don't get it. We see one angle of Him, but not the whole picture.
I pulled up a photograph of the Superman statue on Google and stared at it for several minutes. I saw a family standing at the base of this larger-than-life monument. Have you ever looked at God as a cold, uncaring statue? Wondering if He even notices you're down here? I have.
There is nothing cold or sterile about our God. He is multi-faceted! As today's verse says, He is my strength, my song, my salvation, my God and so much more! Just because we may not have experienced His healing, doesn't make Him any less the Healer. Just because we may not have sensed Him shower peace on our turmoil, doesn't make Him any less the Prince of peace. As we trust Him, obey Him and seek His face, He will reveal more and more of Himself to us.
We gals may not be Lois Lane, but there is One who can rescue us from any situation. Jesus Christ is His name. And man, is He super!
Dear Lord, thank You for being all we need and so much more! Grow my vision of You Lord to see past my limited knowledge. Open my mind to see beyond my reality. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Do You Know My Strength, Song and Salvation?
Hang out with Luann on her radio program, Encouragement Café, and her blog!
Embraced by the Father: Finding Grace in the Names of God by Susanne Scheppmann
When Self-Rescue is Not an Option, a free resource offering more encouragement
Application Steps:
Ask others to share their testimony with you. Find out how God has shown Himself in their lives.
Ask Him to grow your vision of Him.
Reflections:
What causes me to put God in a box?
When was the last time I looked at God from a different angle?
How can I trust Him in every area of my life?
Power Verses:
Deuteronomy 10:17, " For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes." (NIV)
Psalm 46:1, "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." (NIV)
© 2010 by Luann Prater. All rights reserved.
"The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him." Exodus 15:2 (NIV)
"He's really big and tall," she said.
This six year-old had never heard of Superman before visiting the towering blue and red 200 foot figure in Metropolis, Illinois. She didn't know that he was an action hero; he just looked like a rigid statue to her. She didn't know that millions before her had watched him rescue Lois Lane again and again. She didn't know he was from the planet Krypton and could fly. The tall, rigid statue was her reality of Superman.
Then it hit me – we often view God through the same limited vision. Even though His Word tells us He is:
El Elyon - God Most High
El - The Strong One
Jehovah - I AM
Jehovah-Rapha - The Lord Who Heals
El Shaddai - the All Sufficient One
…we often just imagine Him as a statue. If we have never trusted Him to supply our needs, heal us, or be our strength, we just don't get it. We see one angle of Him, but not the whole picture.
I pulled up a photograph of the Superman statue on Google and stared at it for several minutes. I saw a family standing at the base of this larger-than-life monument. Have you ever looked at God as a cold, uncaring statue? Wondering if He even notices you're down here? I have.
There is nothing cold or sterile about our God. He is multi-faceted! As today's verse says, He is my strength, my song, my salvation, my God and so much more! Just because we may not have experienced His healing, doesn't make Him any less the Healer. Just because we may not have sensed Him shower peace on our turmoil, doesn't make Him any less the Prince of peace. As we trust Him, obey Him and seek His face, He will reveal more and more of Himself to us.
We gals may not be Lois Lane, but there is One who can rescue us from any situation. Jesus Christ is His name. And man, is He super!
Dear Lord, thank You for being all we need and so much more! Grow my vision of You Lord to see past my limited knowledge. Open my mind to see beyond my reality. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Do You Know My Strength, Song and Salvation?
Hang out with Luann on her radio program, Encouragement Café, and her blog!
Embraced by the Father: Finding Grace in the Names of God by Susanne Scheppmann
When Self-Rescue is Not an Option, a free resource offering more encouragement
Application Steps:
Ask others to share their testimony with you. Find out how God has shown Himself in their lives.
Ask Him to grow your vision of Him.
Reflections:
What causes me to put God in a box?
When was the last time I looked at God from a different angle?
How can I trust Him in every area of my life?
Power Verses:
Deuteronomy 10:17, " For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes." (NIV)
Psalm 46:1, "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." (NIV)
© 2010 by Luann Prater. All rights reserved.
Labels: Balance, God's Perspective, Overcoming, Spiritual Growth, Time with God, Trusting God
3 Comments:
He's my hero!
I think I actually make Him too small and limit His abilities in my mind especially when I reach to rescue myself and not allow God to work in the situation.
Oh my goodness this is so hard to do sometimes! Lately I haven't been seeing God the way I should be and sometimes view him as someone who gets annoyed with my unsteady faith. I try really hard to believe and many times get frustrated with myself which leads me to believe that God would be frustrated with me too. It is comforting to know that as we continue to pray and trust in Him that he will continue to reveal his true self to us.
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