A healthy two-year old boy is all energy, and is all focused on himself. If he is happy, he laughs, if he is upset, bored, disappointed, angry, wet or hungry he cries. If he wants something he takes it and if he does not want to eat something he spits it out. If he wants to go potty he announces it to the world! He is the king and let no one forget it! Someone has suggested that to bring up a child is to turn a savage into a citizen. I think he is right. It is called loving discipline. A parent or grandparent that loves his/her child will lovingly discipline (disciple) them just as God disciples us. To not discipline a child is to hate the child… and assure that the child will be a misfit the rest of his or her life.

In the same way the Lord disciples us! That discipline is part of the song, “What a Friend We have in Jesus.” Hebrews 12:4, 5 states, “And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son.”

Notice that the writer of the letter to the Hebrews calls this a “Word of Encouragement!”

Our God is:

Omniscient – This simply means that He knows everything. You can’t fool God! He understands what we are doing and why we are doing it! You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool God!

Omnipotent – This means that God is all-powerful. There is nothing that God cannot do. However, there are a lot of things that He will not do. God gave Adam and Eve dominion over the earth. It was theirs to run with His help.

            When Adam and Eve sinned they gave Satan dominion over the earth. That is why it says that Satan is the god of this world (age). 2 Corinthians 4:4 states, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

            When Jesus died on the cross He paid the penalty for our sins, and redeemed us from the curse of the law. Although Satan retains the rule (God’s permissive rule) over the world, believers have power over Satan through our faith and through our words.

            We have a friend that is a member of a church that has started on a building project. They had the money to get started, they have sold their old building, and things should be going well. Suddenly everything has come to a screeching halt.

            As I listened to the story I told her about the power of words. She had a little trouble believing what I said, so I explained. Everything was going well until someone in power said something negative…and everyone accepted the statement as true and got discouraged.

            She looked surprised and then said, “You are exactly right!”

            It will take faith-filled words to get things going again… and prayer, patience and teaching, but they can do it!

            So… if you have a problem, keep praying – like everything depended on prayer. Also we must work like everything depended on our work… and obey like everything depends on our obedience.

Omnipresent – God is everywhere at the same time. That is why there is no distance in prayer. When we pray for our troops in Iraq, the God who hears our prayers does not have to charter a jet to fly over there to bless and encourage the one we prayed for. He is already there!

How well, then does God know us?

            Well, He has done His research. He states that He has searched us and knows us thoroughly. This is not too difficult to understand. In a normal week about 10 p.m. my wife yawns and says, “I guess you know what I am going to do.” And off to bed she goes. It is predictable. And usually I say something about being there shortly and about 10:30 I’m off to bed.

            God even knows when we sit down or get up – before we do. He knows what we are going to think about before we do it!

            He knows if we are going to go out for the evening and He can predict our naps.  Simply put, He is familiar with all our ways. While I am pondering what to say He knows exactly what I will say.

            He also protects us. It says, “You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid Your hand upon me.” In today’s vernacular He would say, “I’ve got you covered!”

            So the psalmist says, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain!” There is no place that we can go where God is not already present.  

            Jonah tried to get away from God… but God was on the boat when Jonah bought his ticket!

            “If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,’ even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You.”

            When we were being formed in our mother’s womb, God was there overseeing the project. Finally the psalmist notes that “all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.”

            What is his conclusion? “How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with You.”

            How do you see God? Is He a friend or a foe? Is He domineering or loving? It’s pretty much your choice.

             Two teenagers were painting a shed for their dad. Actually they were lying on the grass goofing off. One of them said to the other, “It sure is nice to be your own boss.” The other one agreed. About that time their dad walked around the corner of the shed looking unhappy. They both jumped up and the first teen said, “And I think I will tell myself to get back to work.”

            God empowers us to live our own lives… He gives us talents, skills and time and energy. We need to apply those gifts to the task at hand and get the job done. If we don’t then, if necessary, God can and will become a Taskmaster. The choice, my friends, is ours.

            We just completed another wonderful community Vacation Bible School (VBS). I never cease to be amazed at how well those projects go… nor do I cease to wonder at all of the time and energy that people put into the project. Only eternity will reveal what God has done through those efforts. One of the ladies from the Omega Baptist Church said, “I need to ask for forgiveness in advance. I’m sure that we will never be able to put everything back where it belongs, but we will do our best.”

            She did not need to worry. Our ladies worked side by side with them until everything was done. Likewise, we need not worry about our getting God’s work done. He is working side by side with us as well!

          Have you learned to relax? Architect Frank Lloyd Wright once told of an incident that may have seemed insignificant at the time, but had a profound influence on the rest of his life. The winter he was 9, he went walking across a snow-covered field with his reserved, no-nonsense uncle. As the two of them reached the far end of the field, his uncle stopped him. He pointed out his own tracks in the snow, straight and true as an arrow's flight, and then young Frank's tracks meandering all over the field.

            "Notice how your tracks wander aimlessly from the fence to the cattle to the woods and back again," his uncle said. "And see how my tracks aim directly to my goal. There is an important lesson in that."

            Years later the world-famous architect liked to tell how this experience had greatly contributed to his philosophy in life. "I determined right then," he'd say with a twinkle in his eye, "not to miss most things in life, as my uncle had." 

            Focus on the Family letter, September, 1992, p. 14. (Found at www.esermonillustrations.com)

          God understands all about us. He knew our strengths and weaknesses before He ever called us to do the work He has for us. He wants us to be on our team, and He is a fantastic coach.

          Let’s renew our desire today to trust and obey and obey God in every area of our lives!