Rejoice!

Philippians 4:4: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, Rejoice!

This sounds so simple, but often times I find it to be so difficult. There are some things going on [which I will withhold from you because I don't want to share...just being honest] and lately it has been hard to do the whole rejoicing thing.

Why do I let myself get lost in the stress, worry and anxiety of the circumstances of my life, or my job, or my relationships, etc? It's as if I'm saying that my problems are too big for God. Or that my worries out-weigh God's command to always rejoice.

So I continue reading in Philippians and only make it 2 more verses...

Verse 6 of chapter 4: ...Do not be anxious about anything. Busted! Arrogant aren't I?!

Worry implies that we "don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives."

Stress says that "the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control."

Why am I so quick to doubt? How can it be that I can encounter the holiness and otherness of God and still believe that my problems and worries are bigger than Him? Why do I lose sight of the fact that life is all about God and not at all about me? I just need to get over myself!

I am reading a book right now by a fantastic writer and speaker, Francis Chan, called Crazy Love. I just started it today and I cannot put it down. He covers this topic of stressing and worrying early on in the book and I had a hard time moving forward with the reading.

Picture this, you are an extra in a movie and the camera rolls by and catches the back of your head. A whole 2/5 of a second of screen time. You call home or your friends and you talk about this movie and how it features you...that it's all about you. They called you an idiot and are stunned that you think the movie is about you.

Unfortunately a lot of Christians get disillusioned with this. We believe that the movie is about us.

But the thing is, the star of the movie is God and will always be God! Opening scene is the creation of the universe [Were you there? Did God consult you on what to create next?]. There's a flood. Then a character arises, Abraham, and he becomes the father of a nation. After awhile Joseph comes in, then Moses and David. God then appoints prophets and judges to speak against a people who have lost the art of obedience. The movie was still not about these people. They were extras...

The movie starts to become interesting. You sit up in your seat and your pupils dilate as the Son of God is born of a virgin into a world that God still loves, He performs miracles and teaches them about true love.

The climax...your heart is pounding [maybe you cover your eyes or grip the seat handles]...the Son of God dies, in 3 days is alive again, then goes back to be with God the Father! The church is born...Pentecost...

Whew! Wipe the sweat off your palms [maybe the tears], the movie's done. No wait, it's not. There's one more scene. Read about this final epic scene in Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4. There are these scary creatures with lots of heads and lots of eyes flying around a throne singing Holy is the Lamb that was slain. Elders are laying down their golden crowns ascribing worth to the Lord. Incredible!

From the opening to the final scenes, it has always been about God!

So where do we fit? You see our 2/5 of a second fall somewhere after Pentecost and the final scene described above. So are you still thinking everything should be about you? I'm glad I am reading this book to re-learn this unshakable truth...God IS the main character. It is ALL about Him!

1 Corinthians 10:31: ...whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.

That's what I want my 2/5 of a second to be about...His fame and renown and glory! If I'm struggling [which I may be right now], then I need to show the world that my God is good and He is the God of PERFECT PEACE and He will calm the storms. If things are good, then show the world that even though you are experiencing a time of blessing, it is still not about you!

God wants to be glorified. Point to Him! Have a blessed 2/5 of a second...

Grace and peace.