Richard Wurmbrand was a pastor overseas when the communists in his country decided to put him in prison. During one of his torture sessions they held him upside down and began to beat his feet till they were bruised and bloodied. They then let him go back to his cell. While lying down and trying not to pass out he began to worship God. And through His worship this man became so awed at the holiness of His God that he realized he needed to stand. So he got up on his bruised and bloodied feet and stood in the presence of the Holy One of Israel.
And the presence of the Living God filled his cell like we couldn’t even imagine.
Many mos ago now God used this story to teach me a lesson.
I was struggling with God. I was angry at God over something that He was very obviously allowing bc it made no sense to me. And I sat there one Sunday morning during the time of singing wrestling with God.
“I don’t understand You God! How could You do this! This makes no sense and I need You to help me understand bc I don’t get it!”
I wanted an answer. I wanted God to explain to me what He was doing and why bc I didn’t get it and I was mad. I was beginning to question my faith. How do I trust a God I can’t understand and don’t always like what He does??
And in the middle of my wrestling the Holy Spirit reminded me of this story about Richard Wurmbrand. And He gently but firmly said “Erika, you don’t have to understand Me or My ways to worship Me. I am the Holy One of Israel. I am the God who can demand that a man with bruised and bloodied feet stand in My presence and still be good. Bc I am God. All you need to do right now is acknowledge that I am worthy of worship no matter what. Whether you ever understand Me doesn’t matter.”
So I stood up and worshipped God.
We like God to make sense and when He explains His plans or reveals Himself to us in amazing ways – Praise His Name! But that’s not what our faith can rest on. That can’t be what causes us to obey or keeps us going bc if it is – when we don’t understand we will fall. What needs to be our foundation is simply that He is God and we are not.
Therefore, He is worthy of worship no matter what I think.
No matter how I feel
Or what I understand
Or even like.
He is God
In His infinite grace and mercy may the Holy One of Israel give us a vision of His glory. May we truly begin to realize that He is God and what that means! May we see Him high and lifted up that we may begin to fear Him, love Him, seek to know Him, and hate our sin.
Bc at the end of the day He is God, and that’s all that matters.