When I like someone I just can't help but get mad when he chooses to talk to or spend time with another girl. I think, Why her? She doesn't know you like I do. Or, I know what's best for him, I'm the one who cares the most for him, I'll do anything for him.... But then I realize, what the hell am I thinking?! Do I think I have the right to think he's mine? I have no reason to be jealous.
But what about when it comes to God?
We're His. He created us. He knows every fiber of our being. He loves us - not the stupid, foolish, temporal love we have for our significant other but true love. The love that does what is best for us no matter what the cost. The love that stands beside us despite how ungrateful we are.
God has that right to have that jealous rage.
He created me and I said that I would dedicate my life to Him. I am His. I know He knows what's best for me, that He's done everything for me, and that He loves me. If I get jealous that some stupid boy considers me second-rate, how much more right does God have to get mad at me when I prioritize Him second?
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Yesterday's Hillsong United Concert was amazing. The difference between a Christian concert and a secular concert is pretty clear. At a secular concert, you go to listen to the performing band or artist. At a Christian concert, the experience lies within the audience. To be surrounded by people who are all passionate about Christ, unabashedly shouting and raising their hands to give glory to our God...absolutely awe-inspiring.
Another thing thing that sticks in my mind is the analogy that Brooke Fraser shared before she sang one of my favorite songs (Desert Song)...
"I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure, just as gold and silver are refined and purified by fire. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” (Zech. 13:8-9)
In short, she said that we can think of ourselves like gold and God as the goldsmith. A goldsmith puts impure gold into the fire and the impurities rise to the surface so that he can skim them off, and this is done until the gold is pure. Just the same, we are tested, put through trials and tribulations. These times always bring out the worse in us. We are put through these trials so that our sin can be flushed out - and then God will be able to see His reflection is us.
And while it's cliche, I can't neglect the second part of the passage: Through these trials and tribulations, God is always with us and we can depend on Him.
“Whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.” (James 1:2-4)
