Friday From the Heart: We are the Speck!

Lately I have been thinking a lot about how difficult it is at times to just praise. Not asking God for anything, not being thankful for anything He has done for me, but instead to just praise Him because of who He is! David in the Psalms has such a wonderful way of doing this. I find myself starting in any number of the praise Psalms if I haven't the words myself.

Being a substitute teacher, I am in a number of classrooms. I was thinking this morning about Horton. Yes, the Dr. Seuss Horton. He hears a who. I have seen that book in at least three different classrooms these past couple of weeks. When we first saw that movie it was so moving to me because of the fact that as most of us have heard it said "a person's a person, no matter how small". When I grieve for my miscarried child and keep that to myself because, "well, she was only a 11 week old fetus". Obviously when the movie came out that was still a raw grief...no matter how small. That child who is in the arms of Jesus matters to Him.

Is anyone else with me when they saw that movie? I mean, that we are the Hortons of the world and there are little people or maybe your take is "less fortunate" people that need to be kept safe and helped? Just a thought. As I have been seeking to better praise Him just because He is God, He has brought small glimpses to me in the things I have been doing. I already mentioned the many copies of "Horton Hears a Who" books in classrooms I have been in. Then there are all of the glimpses lately I have been given into the universe itself. A few weeks ago Matthew and I went to the observatory here about 30 minutes away and got the reminder of the teenie tiny-ness of us. And we so often think we are "all that".

I pondered this morning when I drank coffee on the back step as the sun came up...my God could at anytime take that sun into His hand and fling it across the galaxy sending us to our demise spinning into space. He really doesn't even have to do that at all really. Just a small tip with a finger for Him to throw off the suns position and send us into a random orbit. Too close to the sun, too far from the sun and we are no longer "all that".

We really are "the speck". The beautiful thing about real life though is that our God is not Horton. He is not a bumbling elephant who is trying as hard as He can to keep us safe. We live in His Will. Not always an easy place to be but we have a guarantee that He will not lose us in a huge field of pink puff flowers! I got to share the story of Abraham's almost sacrifice of Isaac to my Good News club kids. How sobering it is to think that God could ask for our most prized possession as a sacrifice. Abraham knew beyond a shadow of a doubt God's character would not renig on His promise. That is why he truly is the "father of the faithful" and has so much of Hebrews 11 dedicated to his example.

Yes, we are the speck. And we can be sure that the One who holds us is not going to let go, or lose us along the way. In fact, there is only one enemy of our God and he holds no candle to the One who created him! I am going to stay fixed on Him. I am going to be a better praiser of Him. NOT because I have to be a "good enough" praiser but because I am the speck. If I learn to praise Him well, I will be able to help those who need someone to speak for them in His name.

I have been blessed to have spent the last seven months in the book of Hebrews with some awesome women of God. There was so much to learn but one of the things again, recently that connects to my desire to praise God for being God is Hebrews 13:15 "Therefore, by Him, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." Praise as a sacrifice. During the times I am grieving, sorrowful or even depressed, it IS a sacrifice of my own state of mind to say "Lord, I praise You in this storm". Sacrifice...it is easy to praise God when things are going well, it is when we have to hoist our own grief onto the altar of His praise that we sacrifice. We are the speck and He is our God. Our God who hears every word whispered or shouted. Without our saying, He knows "we are here".

Having trouble praising? Here is a place to start...open the Word to Psalms and take your pick: 33, 63, 84, 92, 93, 95, 96, 100, 111, 113, 117, 136, 139, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150.

Psalm 63:1-3 "O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You."