Some Christians shy away from the idea that God is the Lord. Sometimes the reasoning is, that, if we make God the Lord, then he is responsible for all that goes on in the universe, and that wouldn’t be good for his popularity. For example, if disasters or other bad things occur, a ‘God’ not fully in the know or in control of everything is proposed instead.
However, when good things happen, then God is given the credit because it is assumed to be safe for him. That seems to be a little inconsistent to my way of thinking.
Nebuchadnezzar
The Bible helps us to see that God is the Lord in many places, but one story I love is about the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. Feeling proud and pleased as he walks on the upper balcony of his splendid palace, he says to everyone and no one in particular, “Isn’t this great, this place I’ve built, the people who look up to me, the work I’ve done. I’m pretty powerful and amazing – you could even say, ‘glorious’?”
Regrettably this man had forgotten the dream he’d had warning him against this way of thinking. He had been advised by Daniel to humble himself before God and be more kind to the poor and needy. Now, it was too late! With a word from the Almighty he ran mooing from his mansion out into his large back paddock where he stayed for seven years eating grace like a cow (a bull?). At the end of that time he even looked a bit like a cow too.
However, after seven years he came right in his head again and came back to live in his palace on the hill. He prayed this amazing prayer, blessing, praising and honouring God as the ‘Most High’: Finally, I prayed to God in heaven, and my mind was healed. Then I said: “I praise and honour God Most High. He lives forever, and his kingdom will never end. To him the nations are far less than nothing; God controls the stars in the sky and everyone on this earth. When God does something, we cannot change it or even ask why. (Daniel 4)
King Nebuchadnezzar came to see that God is the Lord, one of his most common titles. He identified God as superior to all others, an eternal ruler who governs whole nations with the same ease with which he controls the vast cosmos. Furthermore, his actions are perfect and free of compulsion.
In other words, he understood that God is the Lord. While he was living in denial of God’s right to rule as his Lord, God was a threat. Now that he accepts God’s rule, his lordship it is a comfort.
What about you: Is a God who is Lord a threat or comfort to you?