The perfect God that punishes all unrighteousness paid our debt in full when he crushed his Son on the cross (Isaiah 53:10). And this God—our God—forgives in order to be feared. Somehow, God gets more glory, more fame and more awe in the world when he saves sinners. He didn’t renounce his renown to rescue us. He highlighted and fulfilled it. He forgives and saves to be seen for all that he is.
“God didn’t renounce his renown to rescue us. He forgives and saves to be seen for all he is.” Tweet
The Waiting
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. (Psalm 130:5-6)
When we meet a God like ours—the all-knowing, righteous and forgiving God—we will wait for him. There’s no other way to respond to a God of such awful wrath and such merciful welcome. If we’ve tasted and seen that he is good, we’ll wake up wanting more of him, asking for more of him, creating space in our days and plans and dreams for him to come and meet us.
This side of heaven, we’re always waiting. Waiting for wisdom about that difficult decision. Waiting for a breakthrough in that relationship. Waiting for him to make things right around us. Waiting for him to answer the hard questions on our hearts. Waiting for him to make us whole and holy. Waiting for him to recreate the world and everything in it. Waiting for him to finally bring his sons and daughters home. We’re never not waiting until Jesus returns.
More than anything, though, we’re waiting for him—for more and more of him. And in every other kind of waiting, we’re waiting for him, too. He is the sustaining power and guiding direction and culminating meaning of all our lives. Everything relates to him. “For from him and through him and to him are all things” (Romans 11:36). So we wait for him, and only him.
The Worship
O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities. (Psalm 130:7-8)
While we are always waiting this side of heaven, God is also always moving. He is always giving us reasons to remember him, give thanks and rejoice. From the moment he made the earth, the sun and the seas, he has wanted to inspire worship. And everything he does is worthy of worship—not begrudging, dutiful worship, but affectionate, awe-soaked, spontaneous worship. Everything he does should cause our hearts to rise. It doesn’t always have that effect on us, but that problem’s not his. Everything about him is good beyond our imagination, especially the abundant life he gives to undeserving and unfaithful insurrectionists like you and me.
The hope we have with him can’t be held in. It won’t be trapped in our hearts or in our homes or even our church gatherings. The hope is so full, so real, so compelling, so life-changing that it runs around inside of us frantically looking for a way to escape, desperately longing to be shared with others. “Hope in the Lord!”
Worship is the way the redeemed respond to the good we have with God. It’s the invitation to all the world to come, buy and eat, without money and without price. It’s the sound of the soul’s happiness in him.
“Worship is the way the redeemed respond to the good we have with God.”
