Written Feb. 3, 2006, edited 2011.
In reading Psalm 97 recently, the last verse struck me as it hadn't before, 12 Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
One of the marks of false gods is that they are not holy. Even "the best" of them have some immoral aspect or legend about them. At best they are mere men - creations of the Creator. Most are decidedly UNholy. (All the so-called goddesses are unholy too, by the way.)
The Lord God Almighty is not so. He is holy. There is no sin in Him. There is nothing in Him that we should be ashamed of. This is something we must remember as we watch the unholiness of the world around us. More than that, we should give thanks when we remember that He is holy. And, truly, it is something to be thankful for.
Have you ever contemplated how hopeless it is to trust in a god who is not better than ourselves? Many do. In fact, some gods could actually be proven to be worse than their devotees. How pathetic! Then too, how pointless to worship a god who needs his followers to protect him. The true God never has and never will, despite what some people think. He was there before we were and nothing takes Him by surprise. He is in total control of His entire creation (including Satan, see Job 1-2).
More than that, His holiness is "equal to any occasion," in a manner of speaking. That is, He always will do the holy thing. We never have to worry about Him doing wrong. Have you stopped to think about what a blessing and comfort that is? Many people throughout history, and at present, cannot have that confidence in their god. Sadly, many people who profess to worship the God of the Bible do not have that confidence in Him because they do not remember His holiness and they do not believe His word.
Yes, the Lord's holiness is something to remember, not just with reverent fear but also with thankfulness!
Revelation 15:4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.
Thanks for the reminder Mary. It's always so easy for me to forget that the Lord sees the whole picture, knows the entire situation of every thing that happens in my life, he knows what all my outcomes will be. How often I try to to help things along or make things work so things will work out the way I think they should. How foolish of me! The Lord God is holy and certainly doesn't need my help, he also doesn't desire for my outcomes to be what I always want them to be for a given situation! When I realize and remember this, I pray that every situation he puts me in that I realize he is trying to make me more like him, wether I like the process or not! How magnificent the Lord is, so patient, loving, kind and forgiving!! Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of almighty! Have a nice day! Liza
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. And Amen! It is easy to fall into thinking we need to help make things happen the way we think they should while forgetting that God, in His holiness, knows so much better than we do!
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