It’s Time to Put God In His Place
Hear me out.
It’s time you and I put God in His place. It’s time we take him out of our self-sized, small-faith boxes and let Him be in our lives daily exactly who He is eternally and infinitely: it’s time to put God in His place in our lives.
Consider the theology – the teaching about God’s person – contained in the sermon you preached (or heard) last Sunday. Did it faithfully, clearly – and only – echo the teaching of the Word of God concerning the person of God? Or did it reshape God in our own image and ideas? Did it present a version of God conformed to the wants and wonderings of people, or did it present God as He is, as He has definitively revealed Himself in the Bible?
For example. The Scriptures are clear in their teaching that God is Eternal Judge, the One before whom every human being will stand to face righteous judgment for his or her sins. AND, the Scriptures are clear in their teaching that God Himself took our sin – yours and mine – upon Himself at the Cross, thus making a way for us to be forgiven our sin, and so, receive life eternal. This is God’s place. But do you put Him in this place in your life and preaching? Or do you preach, present – and practice – a theology that says He is something different? Have your own ideas about God displaced God from His rightful place?
It’s time to put God in His place, His rightful place in our lives.
The “where” of His place is defined by the “who” of His person: When we understand WHO God really is, we will understand WHERE He belongs in our life.
Consider WHO God has revealed Himself to be by the names He has chosen for Himself.
God has introduced Himself to us as . . .
Elohim: “Strong One”
This name speaks of God’s sovereignty and creative work, and especially His sovereign and mighty works on behalf of His covenant people. (Gen. 1:1; Isa. 45.18; 54:5; Jer. 32:27; Ps. 68:7).
Jeremiah 32.27: “I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me!”
It’s time to put God in His place in our life. It’s time to give Him His place, as the One who sovereignly works mighty and creative deeds on our behalf as we walk in covenant with Him.
El Shaddai: “God Almighty.”
Some scholars think this name of God reveals Him as our loving supply and comfort; others see His power as the Almighty one rising above us who corrects and chastens (Gen. 17:1; 28:3; 35:11; Ex. 6:1; Ps. 91:1, 2).
Psalm 91.1-2: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
It’s time to put God in His place in our life. It’s time to give Him His place as our loving supply and comfort, and yes, as the All-Powerful One who corrects and chastens us in His love.
El Elyon: “The Most High God.”
This speaks of God’s strength, sovereignty, and supremacy (Gen. 14:19; Ps. 9:2; Dan. 7:18, 22, 25).
Daniel 7.18: “But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever and ever.”
It’s time to put God in His place in our life. It’s time that we daily crown Him as our Sovereign, make Him supreme in every part of our life, and depend on His infinite strength.
El Olam: “The Everlasting God.”
Emphasizes God’s unchangeableness and is connected with His inexhaustibleness (Gen. 16:13).
Genesis 16.13: “So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”
It’s time to put God in His place in our life. It’s time we rest in God’s unchanging nature in all His love and holiness, recognizing that we can never exhaust His grace, mercy, love and power.
I’m Sure You Have
Have you ever talked with someone about God and that person found a biblical God to be too hard or harsh for his liking, telling you, “That’s not the God I serve.” What this person is really saying is, “That’s not the god I have created in my own image.” His own ideas have formed a god who does not exist, a god of no reality, presence or power in this person’s life or anyone’s life.
But as a disciple of Jesus Christ, you and I serve the only true and living God, the Strong One, the Almighty, the Most High, and the Everlasting God. We would never say He is not the God we serve.
Or would we? Better yet, do we?
Whenever we imagine God to be less than who He is and able to do less than He actually does, aren’t we saying of Elohim, El Shaddai, El Elyon and El Olam, that He is not the God we serve?
When we think or say that He cannot or will not sovereignly work mighty and creative deeds on our behalf as we walk in covenant with Him . . .
When we think or say that He cannot or will not be our loving supply and comfort, or the All-Powerful One who corrects and chastens us in His love . . .
When we think or say that He cannot or will not be Sovereign, absolutely supreme in every part of our life, or unable to carry us in His strength . . .
When we think or say that He cannot or will not prove to be unchanging in His love and holiness, or that we are the one person who has exhausted His grace, mercy, love and power . . .
Are we not then saying that the God of the Bible is not the God we serve?
It is time – it is past time – to put God in His place in our lives. It’s time to put God back on the throne as our Elohim, El Shaddai, El Elyon and El Olam.
It’s time to put God in His place.
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NOTE: Journey Pastoral Coaching exists to provide pastoral coaching to Millennial ministers.
Saddled with large student debt, just beginning to set up homes and start families, and serving in low paying first and second positions, Millennials are those who most desire but can least afford to pay for pastoral coaching.
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“In the early years when I was becoming a pastor, I needed a pastor.”
Eugene H. Peterson, The Pastor: A Memoir
