wizard of oz

“He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.” Psalms 107:29

“He replied, ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.” Matthew 8:26

I read there are 365 instances of the phrase “fear not” in the Bible. I would venture to say they all come from the mouth of either angels, Jesus or God the Father. The visitations of heavenly beings were not cherub-like, Hallmark babies with wings. No, their awe-inspiring sight led prophets such as Isaiah to proclaim:

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Isaiah 6:5

In other words, he was scared witless. So frightened by the sight of El Shaddai, the LORD Almighty, our omnipotent God, that it brought Isaiah to deep conviction of his sin and unworthiness before Him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone holding a Precious Moments angel and be brought to that state of mind.

He Rules and Reigns

“He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.” Daniel 2:21

God’s omnipotence is not limited to personal encounters— He governs all of history. In the book of Daniel we see the almighty God at work throughout the visions and events. We are reminded that kings, rulers, presidents, etc, are only in their positions because God alone allows it. He uses all of them for His plan and purposes. So much so that Isaiah also gave us these words from God: “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

It’s not just governments that are under El Shaddai’s rule. As we read in the opening verses, all nature is under His command. We are to “fear not” when faced with disasters. That seems like a difficult task, doesn’t it? We have the benefit of looking back over the “men in the boat” scriptures from Matthew and Mark. But the disciples did not. They were in the boat, in the moment, in the storm. And they were terrified, especially thinking Jesus couldn’t care any less. They discovered He was fully in control of nature at all times.

He Can and He Will

When disaster strikes, fear whispers the same lie: either God cannot help, or He will not. This is why remembering God’s character matters. He is Creator and Deliverer. He loves us. He sees our needs—even when His ways are beyond our understanding. He is all‑powerful.

“Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’” – Revelation 5:11-12

Friends, if we could honor God’s omnipotence with fear and trembling like the angels and so many of the saints in the Bible we would be strengthened daily. From Mary Magdalene to Abraham and Philip to Elijah they dropped to their knees in amazement, wonder and a bit of fear. Our God is not the god of the Wizard of Oz – an old man hiding behind a curtain using man-made efforts to control the world. The God we trust and believe need only speak or just breathe and the world obeys.

While we may not all have the benefit of a visitation like Cornelius or Joseph, we can see His power and might daily in His Creation. We can read and believe of the work He has done, is doing and will bring to completion in the final times when He comes in all His glory.

“Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.” Revelation 19:6

We’re about halfway through our 30 days of Reverence! If you missed a post, click here! Be sure to follow the blog to receive your post in your email.

Be completely humble and gentle; 
be patient, bearing with one 
another in love.
Ephesians 4:2

A prayer to be a patient person

Faithful Father, I get so caught up in the busyness of life that I forget that my needs and desires are not the same as everyone else’s. When I’m running late, I want to yell at the drivers in front of me for not moving quickly enough. The slow grocery store bagger receives my glare when she doesn’t work at the same speed which I expect. Or when a friend doesn’t respond to my text as prompt as I need, I get frustrated. I’ve come to realize, LORD, through your holy Word that my impatience is an outgrowth of my lack of humility. Your admonishment to love one another needs to be on my lips when I feel that frustration and anger well up inside me. LORD, I know there is nothing more important to you than having your children express compassion and love for each other. Rest your loving hand on my shoulder as a reminder for when I forget this. Quell my impatient heart and mind and replace it with grace. In your Son’s name I pray, Amen.

When my children were younger, I found myself praying daily for patience. My youngest had the unique ability to press all my “hot buttons” at one time. But patience seemed to allude me. I heard a pastor during this time give the advice to stop beating our heads against the wall if something we prayed for wasn’t manifesting and to pray for something else. It made me realize that maybe God wasn’t answering my prayers because He had other work still to do in me.

Fast forward a few years and I’ve finally come to realize, through God’s nudging and conviction, that I first needed to figure out why I was always so impatient. And as the verse in Ephesians today tells us we need to be “completely humble and gentle.” It was a hard pill to swallow when I pulled back the curtain to see my inner Wizard of Oz working away trying to control everything. And when people aren’t acting as I want them to, I become angry and impatient.

Whoever is patient has great 
understanding, but one who is 
quick-tempered displays folly.
Proverbs 14:29

Great understanding. Understanding of our why’s – not just because we obviously have somewhere much more important to be than everyone else – but our “why” of why we think that. Why do we think our time and our talent or even treasure is so much higher on the scale of importance that we need to tap our feet in obvious disgust? Or we need to blare our horns and use our fingers in un-godly ways. If we are late, who’s fault really is it? If we are up against a deadline, who needs to truly take responsibility for that situation?

God’s Word is great at convicting, correcting and revealing our “why’s.” The next time you find that old foe called “impatience” welling up inside you stop and dig deeper. Pull back the curtain on your wizard and ask God to show you what’s causing so much distress. He will show you. And then He will test you, over and over.

If we all can learn, through a renewed humbleness, to be patient and bearing with one another in love just think how much kinder this world will feel. I’m asking God to start with me.

If you want this too, add the prayer to your daily prayer list and watch and see how God works in your life!

Tag: wizard of oz

Before the Omnipotent God

Our Inner Wizard Of Oz