O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. - Psalm 95:6
When I think of the Lord as our maker, I meditate on creation. To make a man from the dust of the ground is indeed a miraculous thing, and to make a woman from the rib bone of that man is extraordinary. I'm reminded of an old joke where a couple of scientists held a meeting with God to inform Him they had reached His level of intelligence and power. According to them, they had perfected the process of creation. Just as God did thousands of years ago, they could create a human being from dirt. God simply smiled and asked for a demonstration. As the scientists began scraping dust from the ground, God shook His head and stated, "No, no. Use your own dirt." Sorry, but I think that's hilarious (which gives you insight to my warped sense of humor). But, I digress.
The truth is, the Lord as our maker goes so far beyond creating us (as if that weren't fantastic enough). God could have formed our bodies, filled us with breath, then said, "Okay, now you're on your own." But He didn't. He's with us always. He's constantly working on us. As the old children's song says, "He's still working on me to make me what I ought to be." God is still making us. He is making us stronger in His strength, wiser in His wisdom and more courageous through our faith in Him. He is making us more like Jesus every passing day. And He makes a way when it seems there is no hope.
Not only is He making us in the sense of creation and construction, but He's also making us in the sense of the word which means "to cause to act in a certain way." In this instance, I think of Psalm 23:2 which says, "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures." He makes me. Why? Well, let's face it, it's not really in our nature to be still and rest, is it? We're busy. Always on the go. So much to do, so little time. But for our own good, God makes us rest, just as a good parent makes their child go to bed even when the little one is declaring, "But I'm not sleepy!"
Interestingly enough, if you read through the rest of Psalm 95, the psalmist tells how God is our shepherd and discusses entering into His rest.
For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest. - Psalm 95:7-11
Back in the book of Exodus, God made the children of Israel a promise that if they followed and obeyed Him, He would deliver them into the Promised Land. He made a way of escape out of Egypt and a path through the Red Sea. The Lord made food rain down from Heaven every day for forty years so they would never go hungry. He made provision for their worship and sacrifices. But despite His goodness, the people refused to follow Him, so He made them wander in the wilderness for forty years until all the unbelievers died off. Then, and only then, was He able to make good on His promise.
Through this psalm, God is urging us not to make the same mistake. We haven't arrived. God is still working on us, but He's made us some promises, and God never lies. However, we need to keep in mind that some of those promises are conditional promises ("if you..., then I'll...), and are dependent on our keeping up our end of the bargain. Fortunately, God makes it easy for us to obey Him and follow Him. He leads and guides with patience and understanding. He gives us strength and provides us with what we need for the journey. And through it all, He continues to work in and through us, making us what we ought to be. Praise God for being our faithful maker!
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