In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:10
Have you ever had a boss who was a micromanager? He or she followed you around watching everything you did, constantly trying to tweak your performance of every task? Of course we need to do things the way the boss wants, but to be constantly observed and critiqued is rather maddening and probably decreases productivity. Back to that thought in a minute.
Recently I prayed these words:
God, give me wisdom to use every moment, every hour in a way that pleases You.
I immediately noticed a problem with that wording. Do you see it?
If I had prayed to do things God’s way every hour, every moment, I would have been upping the ante, so to speak, saying that not only do I want to please God from hour to hour, but I want to be held accountable even moment to moment. That’s maximum accountability.
By mentioning the moment first and then putting the hour, I was doing the opposite, backing off the commitment, as if I’m fine with thinking about God’s will every hour, but not necessarily every moment of every hour.
In my heart was a desire to reserve a few moments to be under my own control to do what I want. I knew immediately that this thinking was wrong. Certainly my commitment to God should be that I will live for him every single second of my life, holding nothing back from His control.
Yet I was also forgetting who God is. I was thinking of Him as some kind of micro-managing boss who would criticize me if I sat down for a few minutes to sip on some coffee and figure out the Wordle for the day.
My experience tells me that idea is crazy talk. I’ve been blessed with opportunities to do many fun, relaxing, interesting things in my life. During every moment of those experiences, I was still God’s servant, still His child, still living for Him.
God is not my boss, waiting to fire me the minute I slip up. He’s my Father. He gave the Sabbath to bless His people with rest because a father doesn’t want his children to have to work every moment of the day. And a father takes delight in watching his children enjoy good things.
Trust…in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 1 Timothy 6:17
So, if I want to sit down and do Wordle, I can, and I don’t need to feel guilty about it. Even in that moment, I’m still in subjection to my Father. Not every moment has to be, or can be, or should be spent reading the Bible or serving at a soup kitchen. I am a servant of God every hour, every moment of the day and night. But I am not an employee under His thumb. I am loved. And that means I can pray without reservation for wisdom in how I spend every single second of my life.
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1
God is actually the opposite of a micro-manager. If anything, I wish He would come down here and be a little more hands-on; put some wicked people in their place; give me some personal feedback on things in my life; answer some of my questions about the Bible.
But He doesn’t. Whatever providential micro-managing He does is only known through the eyes of faith and without a hundred percent certainty. Like a wise father, He has given a lot of instructions, but He also leaves us to figure out some things without His direct interference. The other day I had to figure out (again) that He’s a loving Father; the more I put myself into His hands, the better off I’m going to be.
He who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us. 1 John 4:18b-19
Dear Heavenly Father, You created me to be Your child and You even redeemed me back from my sin. You are my Father twice-over and You have all authority over every aspect of my life. Forgive me for the times I have tried to shrink from that. I know that Your ways are for my good. I love You, Father, and I thank You in Jesus’s name, Amen.
by Christie Cole Atkins
Walk Worthy 