"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all they strength: this is the first commandment." Mark 12:30
Imagine it is your wedding day and you have planned an outdoor wedding out in the beautiful countryside of your parent's home. This is the day that you have waited and dreamed about your whole entire life.
One major problem: rain. What would be your attitude & response?
Recently I attended the wedding of some very dear friends. The above scenario actually happened. As a guest I wondered what was going to happen. Would the wedding be moved elsewhere? If so, where? Or would we wait until it stopped raining? Later I found out that someone had suggested a pavilion at a nearby park that would only cost $20, the father of the bride responded in faith: "I think everything is going to turn out all right". He, the bride, the groom, and their families were all willing to wait on the Lord. They did not wait with a grumbling attitude. Instead, they waited in full trust that the Lord was in control of the situation and would do what was best. Groom & bride both waited with the right attitude and God was glorified. This was a demonstration of their love for the Lord and it was beautiful to behold.
After standing under umbrellas for a time fellowshipping with the other guests my family decided to dry some seats off and sit down while continuing the use of the umbrellas. Eventually I noticed a patch of blue sky off in the distance, "was it headed this way?" It was! Shortly thereafter, the rain slowed and then stopped. The sun began to shine and it turned into the most gorgeous day. The wedding began a little over an hour after the set time. With joy and trust in the Lord the groom stated to the guests, "We thought the wedding was going to start at noon, but I guess the Lord had other plans".
It was a very God glorifying day. I found it to be a faith building experience to see a godly couple who both loved the Lord so much that even after waiting a long time for marriage; they loved the Lord enough to knowthat HE was in control in spite of the fowl weather. It was actually a wedding that was so focused on the Lord that I felt it prepare us for Sunday worship the following day.
Part of loving the Lord is being willing to wait on Him and for His perfect timing. This goes very much against our fleshly desires to have everything instantly at our disposal. When we do not get what we want or things do not happen the way we think they should it is easy to let ungodly attitudes take over our demeanor. It is inconvenient to wait, but it is such a demonstration of our love for Jesus, to overcome our own desires and desire what the Lord wants.
What would have happened if the groom or bride had displayed wrong attitudes? Anyone would understand and sympathize with a disappointed groom/bride over the fowl weather. The fowl weather was a "test". It was as if the Lord was saying, "Are you going to keep your focus on Me? Do you trust My timing?" They could have allowed the rain to cast a shadow on the wedding. But that would have been failing the "test". It would also have taken glory away from the Lord. Instead, they displayed a trust in the Lord by right attitudes, and God got the glory.
Now back to the question at the beginnig of this article. What would have been your attitude & response? What is your attitude when things "go wrong"? Do you have a wrong attitude? Do you take glory away from the Lord? Or do you use unpleasant circumstances in life as a way to bring glory to God? This is one of the greatest ways to show your love for the Lord. When you respond with a right attitude, you bring glory to God. A wrong attitude takes away glory. Loving the Lord is making sure HE gets all the glory.
"I am the LORD: that is My name: and My glory will I not give to another,
neither My praise to graven images." Isaiah 42:8
