I went to eat on Friday night at the famous Fat Matt's Rib Shack here in Atlanta. I of course ordered ribs, and I was not disappointed in the least. The food was tasty, the music was soulful, and the air was cool (but not too cool) and clear outside on the patio. I was slightly disappointed in the availability of napkins. Our only refuge for hands dripping in sauce were those small folded napkins that come out of a little dispenser on the table. I expected at least a roll of paper towels to accompany such a meal as ribs. The ideal would be Wet Ones wipes or even a damp towel, but this was not the fancy kind of place that would offer such conveniences. As the meal came to an end, though, I looked up and noticed that the place next door just might be able to help us out. Unfortunately, their sign was misleading, and they don't in fact wash hands for a living. But it wouldn't be a bad idea for a place right next to Fat Matt's!
I'm feeling a random need tonight to collect some thoughts, to write some things down, to relish in a little moment of clarity (relatively) regarding God's faithfulness. It's amazing how quick I am to forget - arent' we all? - the goodness of God, the bigness of God, the zealousness of God, and the steadfastness of God. He has revealed to me in the last few days a couple of things that I have found immensely encouraging. First of all, God is always present. I don't mean that in a weird, yoga-like, connect-with-yourself, cooky kind of way. I mean he is seriously always present. We cannot run from Him. We cannot hide from Him. And thank God for that. If it scares you that you cannot run or hide from God, then take a look again at who He says He is. Because it also means that we cannot be alone. We cannot not be loved by Him. We cannot be overcome by our sin. We cannot be condemned. We cannot lose. Wow. If only I remembered that every day. God is not only always available for us, he is always actively wanting us to be with Him. He's not like some statue that we can worship and that is faithful to sit and wait for us to come to Him. He is like us (or more correctly, we are like Him). He has feelings and longings and desires and joys, and they all revolve around us - because He created us in His image and we bear it in this world, however imperfectly. When I am faced with my tiredness, or my irratability, or my boring daily tasks, I can easily forget the grandiose privilege that it is to be alive and to be a child of God. And I can easily forego the opportunity to taste that goodness, to live in light of it, and to bear that image with joy and thanksgiving.Secondly, I realized on Saturday that there is a distinct difference between "waiting on God" and "waiting". I don't remember what exactly sparked this realization, but I was reading Psalm 19 and Isaiah 62 (both passages that were read at a wedding I went to earlier that day). Somehow it occurred to me that if we are not waiting on God, then we are by default waiting on Satan. The Bible clearly says in 1 Peter 5 that the devil is prowling around like a lion waiting for someone to devour. So waiting on that attack is what happens when we wait passively. Wait for what?, you might ask. Whatever it is you want, whatever it is you need, whatever it is that you wish would change. Whatever those things are, if we are not actively waiting, which would probably include praying about them and seeking God's will or his intervention, then we are simply waiting passively. It's not that God rewards our praying because we pray, but he rewards our praying because it is in that act of desperation that we come to Him, that we admit our own inadequacy, that we learn to trust, and that we can know Him intimately. Those are the rewards of waiting on God. And then the outcome of what we are trusting or begging Him for becomes the secondary goal. Not because God doesn't care about the outcome, but because he cares more about our hearts. Zephaniah 3:17 says that "The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with singing. He will quiet you with His love." Forgive me if that is not exact, because I don't want to look it up right now, but you get the idea. We are the delight of God. I know I am getting a little repetitive and preachy here, but we need so badly to hear these things repetitively. They are so easy to forget. Tomorrow I will wake up, and maybe I will remember these thoughts, and maybe I won't. Maybe I will wake up late and rush out the door and feel all discombobulated all day. Maybe I will wake up and spend time praying and be reminded of these truths. Regardless of what I do, and regardless of what you do, the truths don't change. That's the beauty of it. Our circumstances are only disruptive and distracting and disappointing to us, not to God. He is just there, and He is the same, and He will wait for us to notice. Praise Him for that.
I randomly found out about this event which will take place on April 21, and I couldn't pass it up. It's a race to the top of the Bank of America building (55 floors), which happens to be my favorite building in Atlanta. The event is a fundraiser for the American Lung Association, and my goal is to raise $55, which would be $1 per floor. Of course, I'm sure they would accept any and all donations that exceed that goal. If you would be so kind, please visit the link below and consider sponsoring me:
My Climb Atlanta Sponsorship Page
