Perfection and Pride
The Story of Hope is a 40-lesson walk through the Bible that has beautiful new illustrations. My coworker and I are moving through this study with three Zulu women. It is going great. 🙂 Today we did the lesson on the Fall of Lucifer. 
Lucifer is given an incredible description in Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14. He was created by God, perfect in beauty and wisdom, had a covering of precious stones and worshipped God in God’s holy presence. He was originally blameless in his ways and even had access to Eden, the Garden of God on the earth.
But Lucifer became inflated with pride and started down the road of self-exaltation. He ended up not just wanting to be like God, but he wanted to be the Most High.
Th(i)nkful and Humility
In reflecting on the fall of Lucifer, I was hit with how often I personally try to be God. I want to control things in my life. Instead of humbly bowing before God, and deferring to His choices and wisdom in all my circumstances, I start to evaluate what I think is best, and what should have been done, and what would have been done if I was in control. I go on a little self-worshipping Lucifer-rant.
Being th(i)nkful is really about letting God be God and in humility accepting that fact. It is saying, “God, because you say it’s perfect, it is perfect, and I will thank you for it.” Hope, grace, and joy begin to surround my thinking as I download help from the Lord to think thanks in every circumstance in my life and express that thanks.
That choice is hard. Let’s be honest! For most of us, it is difficult to not control things. Our hands must go up in surrender and open in praise. We have to trust that God knows what He is doing. Of course, how can you trust someone if you don’t know them well? And this is a big key to life: know, love, trust. We can only build trust by getting to know that person, and then coming to love them.
Results of “Being” God
In our study this morning we read about the consequences of Lucifer exalting himself to being God. After some serious self-evaluation, he concluded that he should assume the position of the Creator instead of being second best, merely a created spirit. He caused the beginning of evil.
In philosophy, my husband tells me, there is no such thing as evil. Like darkness, cold, and falsity, evil is a term describing the lack of something that does exist, and all four of those things find their source in God’s character. God is Light. He is Fire. He is Truth. He is Goodness. In the beginning, God created choice. Lucifer had two options: the Creator or something other than the Creator. He chose something other than the Creator; he chose himself, and gave birth to the un-Good of evil, becoming known throughout all ages as Satan – “the adversary.”
If anyone had cause for over-the-top thankfulness, it was Lucifer, the anointed, powerful, and musical cherub who stood next to God’s Throne. But pride inflates our thoughts and ideas to become “the optimal standard of what is true and right.” He focused on what he thought was wrong and lacking. Satan did it. We do it.
Only God is God; We are Not
Psalm 52:8-9a gives a beautiful contrast to Lucifer’s debacle. “But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. I will thank you forever.”
Instead of trying to critique God, and instruct God, and be the God of your own circumstances … why not trust in the steadfast love of God forever and thank Him? Exercise your trust in God and revel in His steadfast love. His Word will stand the test of time and His promises will never fail. He is completely trustworthy. As we lean in trust on Him who holds all things together, we can yield control and express our thanks to Him who is the true God, the right God, the only one fit to be God, our great Jehovah.
God is God. God is good. God is good at being God.
th(i)nkful (adj) describing people who choose to download grace/strength from the Lord to think thanks about every circumstance in their life and to express that thanks orally or in written form.
He actually ridiculed and harassed him for always saying “thank you.” Since he found it so irritating, our colleague tried to refrain from saying that he was thankful when with him.
The Psalm 50 crowd is a bit more like you and me. They know about God, but they have gotten lost in empty religious routines, eyes half-open, trying to keep the rules. Righteousness is about a relationship, not rules and routines. But they forgot.
Interesting that God chooses the word sacrifice. Sacrifices in the Old Testament were offered on an altar. It was costly, took effort and purposeful choice. And God knows that giving thanks (externalizing credit and fame to someone other than self) doesn’t come naturally to us humans. It takes effort; it has to be a purposeful choice. It is a sacrifice to offer up thanksgiving, especially when it is directed to God.
In complete contrast to ingratitude, I welcome you to consider the mandate of Ephesians 5:20, “Give thanks in everything” and to join the Psalm 50 crowd in breaking free from routine into a living and thank-filled relationship with your Creator and Redeemer.
This passage hits us with a surprise. Paul exhorts us to fight sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness, filthiness, foolish talk and crude jokes … with thankfulness. Paul didn’t simply shout “stop it,” like Bob Newhardt. He said to replace the sinful behavior with thanksgiving. We fight back against sin with thanksgiving!
things written out in an area easily visible like on your refrigerator and when that temptation comes, read those 4-5 things out loud and thank God that He is God, and you are not, and He is trustworthy and will measure out grace and strength to do His will.
Closely connected to the ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’ philosophy is the famous Smiley sticker, the inspiration for many of today’s emojis. Harvey Ball (not Forrest Gump) in 1963 is recognized as the original creator of the famous icon.
I remember growing up in the 1970’s (that’s me with the camera) and buying smiley stickers with my allowance in the Brumunddal Bokhandle. This was a bookstore in the little Norwegian town of Brumunddal where I spent my childhood. So exciting to spread joy and happiness all over my school books or backpack, really anywhere it would stick! 🙂
A right perspective of my circumstances begins with a right perspective of how close, loving, and committed my God is to me. If I go through a hardship and I look up and see God focused on me with two thumbs up and a smile, I may wonder what He is up to … but there is no doubt that I have His full attention and that He has some purposeful design in my circumstances.
and only see the wildflower in it. Perception is a key component to gratitude. And gratitude is a key component to joy.”
and 1005 songs, had all the riches he desired, and nothing was out of his reach. He taught people through his example in judging difficult cases – like when two mothers were arguing over one baby. He built houses and planted vineyards, gardens, and parks with aqueducts and pools to water the trees. He employed skilled musicians and was surrounded by beautiful women.
for thank, thanked, thanks, thanking, thankful, thankfulness, thanksgiving, thanksgivings, thank-worthy, 67 references came from the Old Testament and 68 from the New Testament.
Creativity: relating to or involving the use of the imagination or original ideas to design or fashion something
What a great sorrow to Him if I am just “thankful for” and not “thankful to,” as though I could chalk all of this up to chance, or luck, or random mutation, or a cosmic hiccup. No! I must give the credit, the applause, the fame, and my sincerest thanks to this Creator. It is all His work.
loaves and two small fish. Their solution was broken, insufficient.
feet and get a big look at earth’s story – full of creativity and goodness, then full of sin and suffering, and then full of hope because God’s restorative creativity that’s just around the corner.
I find that I want to be in control; I want my superior understanding of what is best, my keen sense of order, and my better set of values, to be on the throne. It is difficult to trust that God has everything completely in control and is sovereign. And even if He is in control, He at times does things in a messy and hurtful way; there seems to be no order, purpose, or reason for an illness, an accident, or a financial reversal. Thus, I indict my God and conclude that my way is better.
In reading to them I came across this book called 
When a person goes through a traumatic experience, that person experiences the happening objectively at first. But the later subjective re-experiencing of the happening is what I want to focus on. We relive notable experiences many, many times. It is in this subjective replay of the original experience where the key lies. You can choose how you relive an experience.
As we leave 2018 and move into the brand new year of 2019 in a few days, I would like to challenge you to make a simple “thank you” part of your living. As you process daily things, as well as work through things of the past, insert a simple “thank you.” Let God help you to develop eyes to see not only all His blessings, for which you can be grateful, but also to see His designs in the dark places, because He is there too. And having His hand hold you through a valley of shadows is a cause for deeper gratitude as you get to know His ways, and heart, and character, and purposes more deeply.
who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” Colossians 1:11-12
He posed the question that more than a few Christian kids have asked: What were we giving to the One who had the birthday?
Take a piece of paper. Give careful thought and write out five characteristics that you love about your God. Take your time and use words that describe the attribute well. Next, write out five things that He has done this year for which you’re thankful.
th(i)nkful 