How Do You Respond to God?
When you think of God what comes to mind? Is he the creator that made all things and is now watching his creation? Is he a God that is demanding, asking much from his people and punishing those that are not his? Does he personally answer all of your requests and look over you, like a guardian angel? Is he a loving father that blesses and corrects you?
How you view God will have a direct impact on how you respond to him. Psalm 97 provides a picture of God’s presence and then a clear view of how we are to respond.
God’s Presence
Verses 1 through 5 paint a picture for us:
“The Lord Reigns” (verse 1)
“Clouds and thick darkness are all around him” (verse 2)
“Fire goes before him” (verse 3)
“His lightnings light up the world (verse 4)
“The mountains melt like was before the Lord” (verse 5)
God is seen as powerful, and in control. In one way he is unapproachable as we consider the imagery of clouds surrounding him, and fire going out from him. In other ways he is seen as trustworthy as he rules with righteousness and justice (verse 2). In the end, his adversaries are burned up (verse 3), the earth trembles (verse 4), and mountains melt (verse 5). God’s presence makes a dramatic impact on all of his creation.
Our Response
Mankind, as God’s creation, also responds to the awesome view of God’s presence. Verse 6 shows us how all peoples see his glory, everyone see’s God revealed. The rest of the Psalm gives us appropriate responses to God.
Verse 1: “Let the earth rejoice” - All people rejoice because of God’s presence. Both Jew and Gentile, all the inhabitants of the earth should be filled with joy. God’s presence means his continued care and love for you.
Verse 7: “All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols.” - Worship of anything else is worthless compared to worshipping God as he has revealed himself. What do you value or pursue in life more than God?
Verse 10: “O you who love the Lord, hate evil!” - We respond by hating the things that God hates. God is shown as the one that will empower us to be able to do so in the rest of verse 10. In verse 11 God provides guidance, described as light, and the joy needed to hate evil. What sin do you continue to embrace? Repent and receive God’s power in defeating it.
Verse 12: As a result of everything else, “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name.”
We often approach God with our view of how we would like to see him. We describe him in ways that benefit how we want to respond and to live our lives. This makes it easy because we have then created a god in our own image. Instead, God is the one that has created and as he reveals himself in his creation and through the Bible we are to respond appropriately to who he is. Psalm 97 gives a picture of how we should respond to the awesome glory of God.
How do you respond to God?
If you’re looking for a Boston church to call him, we’d love for you to visit King’s Hill.
