Allowing God to be God

Have you ever struggled with allowing God to be God? I know I have. God is amazing and wonderful and majestic and powerful and loves us beyond our comprehension. However, many of us have many opinions about who God is, who He should be, and how He should move.

But the thing about God is He doesn’t feel He has to operate within our understanding.

Proverbs 3:5 (TPT) “ Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on him to guide you, and he will lead you in every decision you make.”

Why should we refrain from leaning on our own understanding or opinions? Because our view is limited. God alone sees the big picture. God alone knows the beginning from the end. If you have truly given your life to Him, then He alone knows how to position you for what is to come in your life and future generations.

In Matthew 16 beginning in verse 13. Jesus is speaking with His disciples, and He poses a question to them. “Who do they believe I am?” Now, we know that when God asks a question He is not really looking for an answer. He already knows the answer. He is looking for how we will answer. He is looking for what we will reveal about ourselves. I also think it is a way for Him to get us to think.

Matthew 16:14 (TPT) “They answered, ‘Some are convinced you are John the Baptizer, others say you are Elijah reincarnated, or Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’”

Matthew 16:15(TPT) “‘But you – who do you say that I am?’ Jesus asked. Simon Peter spoke up and said, ‘You are the Anointed One, the Son of the living God!’”

Now, I don’t know about you, but I visualize this as Jesus speaking with the disciples having a seemingly casual conversation. However, when Jesus asks the question about who the disciples think He is, Peter cannot help himself. He has this revelation that has been pulsating in his heart and at the right time he is like a child in a classroom raising and waving his hand for the teacher to see – oh pick me, please, pick me, I know the right answer!

Peter indeed did receive his affirmation from Jesus. Matthew 16:17(TPT) “Jesus replied, ‘You are favored and privileged Simeon, son of Jonah! For you didn’t discover this on your own, but my Father in heaven has supernaturally revealed it to you. I give you the name Peter, a stone. And on this rock will be the bedrock foundation on which I will build my church – my legislative assembly, and the power of death will not be able to overpower it!”

Jesus is saying to Peter well done. Good job, Peter. You listened to the Father and He has revealed something to you!

This passage tells us that from then on Jesus begins to prepare the disciples for his death and resurrection. The Bible is unclear on how much time passes between verses 17,18, and verse 22. We don’t know if it is a few days or weeks, but the fact that it is only a few verses later leads me to believe not a lot of time has passed.

Matthew 16:22-23 (TPT) “Peter took him aside to correct him privately. He reprimanded Jesus over and over, saying to him, ‘God forbid, Master! Spare yourself. You must never let this happen to you!’ Jesus turned to Peter and said, ‘Get out of my way, you Satan! You are a hindrance to me, because your thoughts are only filled with man’s viewpoints and not with the ways of God.’”

In this passage with Peter, we see what may happen to many of us. Peter receives revelation from heaven about who Jesus is. He is in tune with God. He is listening and believing what God is telling Him. However, just a few verses down we see that Peter has his own opinions and ideas about how things should happen in the future, and they don’t line up with God’s plans.

The common belief in that day among Jews was that when the Messiah came, he would rule on earth and over Israel. They did not understand that Jesus was sent to die for all mankind. They did not understand that Jesus was dying for everyone who came before them and after them. God’s plan was much much bigger than they had understanding for. Peter was rebuked because he was not allowing God to be God.

How many times have we done this? How many times have we operated under a belief of how things will or should go and then been disappointed or mad at God because things did not turn out as we thought they should?

I know I am definitely guilty of this. I have had my beliefs of how things should happen or turn out, only to be disappointed that the outcome was not what I thought I wanted. Or I have sat from a sideline and played a judge on whether that is really God moving or not based on my comfort level of what God was doing.

And isn’t that what it all boils down to in the end? We as humans desperately want to control our circumstances. It makes us uncomfortable to feel out of control. However, we see all over the Bible where God asks man to trust Him.

Noah was asked to build an ark before he had ever experienced rain. Esther was asked to stick up for her people not knowing if it would mean she would be killed. Moses was asked to deliver an entire people group not knowing if Pharoah would ever release them. The disciples were asked to follow Jesus not knowing what that fully meant.

The point is God asks us to trust Him. He doesn’t reveal His entire plan and then asks for our opinions on if we think that is a good plan. He longs to partner with us to bring Heaven to Earth, but that partnership requires us to trust Him. It requires faith. It requires us to allow God to be God.

Remember friend, God is always for us, never against us. I invite you to allow God to be God in your life. Ask Him if there is anywhere you have taken back the control of your life. If there is, be quick to repent and hand that area back over to Him. He is faithful. He is worthy of our trust. He loves us more than we understand. We can allow Him to be God.