What does it mean to be rightly impressed?
To be rightly impressed is to be justifiably, duly impressed, when being anything but impressed would be unthinkable, inadequate, and inappropriate.
The triune God is so bright that he uses light not to reveal himself as light would be used for anything or anyone on earth, but he uses light to cover himself as with a blanket or a garment!
God uses the heavens, waters, clouds, winds, and fire as building tools, comfortably moving them according to his perfect vision and design as easily as you could imagine a creative child building with Lego bricks!
Seeking to place anything or anyone else in that light to impress or to be impressed by is sure to end in disappointment and disillusionment. The only way you would even want to attempt this is to ignore God and be blind to who he has revealed himself to be.
To be rightly impressed with the matchless Lord God and all he has done ends in gladness.
Singing Psalm 104 brings it home front and center that God made the earth pregnant and bubbling over with beauty, function, and anticipation, and you are rightly impressed with him.
The present earth eagerly awaits just the right time to give birth to the new earth as the Lord perfectly directs. You are rightly impressed that neither internal nor external wickedness will exist there.
He displays his power and tenderness in both his creative and redemptive work.
Singing Psalm 104 you are rightly impressed with what God made for himself and for you to enjoy
“How many works, LORD, in wisdom You’ve made! How fully on the earth Your wealth is displayed.” ~ Psalm 104:24
You are rightly impressed with the acts of God. There are no bottlenecks like shame, guilt, or pain to delay or prevent his making and directing:
The oceans, lakes, rivers, and ponds and the small and great creatures who live in them
Mankind who rests, plans, trains, works, and eats from the full bounty that the Lord provides thriving on their relationships with him and with one another
The animals that walk, hide, eat, and run on land of various terrain and those that build nests high and fly in the air
The glorious mountains and rocks, dirt and sand
The vast variety of seeds and trees, grass, flowers, and plants in colors too numerous to count
The sky of many patterns of weather and hues and the heavenly bodies it contains to mark off renewing time by days, years, and seasons
The stars, planets, and galaxies that are greater in number than the sand on the seashores of earth
A way for those whom he made in his image who got lost to come back home
No one is able to comprehend or fully discern the greatness of the triune God and how he works all things together perfectly placing each piece of the puzzle, each thread of the tapestry for his glory and for the good of those who love him.
Even when you are in your new, immortal body, though you will see his glory more clearly in a way that would destroy you now, you still will not be able to fully take in his glory. Therefore, like the angels in heaven, you spontaneously sing his praises and worship him.
You are rightly impressed that the Lord your God is always working and that he gave you work to do and people to work with in the capacity that he determines.
You are rightly impressed with how God, who considers all things, does all that he wills to do. Not just that he can, but that he does! He needs no contingency plans.
“Whatever you do you work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord and not for men.” ~ Colossians 3:23
You are not saved by good works but to do the good works that God has prepared in advance for you to do. He has given you actual work, preparatory work, and supporting work. You need to work alongside him to unclog any physical and emotional bottlenecks that would hinder his work through you.
When your initial plan is not working out, you do well to have other ways of getting the work done. You read the situation. You flex and pivot. You wait on him watchful and prayerful. Having begun with the Holy Spirit you resist depending on the flesh to bring about his good, pleasing, and perfect will in your life. This is part of your working with all your heart for the Lord and with the Lord.
God set limits by which the waters are bound lest they drown out the dry land. He helps you set limits by which you are bound lest you overwhelm yourself and others.
The conscious choices you make in light of his constant presence reflect that God is not only in your life but that he is your life. You are rightly impressed that he preserves you moment-by-moment so that you can persevere until he takes you home.
You are rightly impressed with the Lord, the director who steps you through every little thought, emotion, and the physical work you do. It’s gotten to all you want to do is please him and enjoy him forever.
“All things have been created through him and for him.” ~ Colossians 1:16
Singing Psalm 104 you are rightly impressed with who God is to you
You are rightly impressed that God is good to you in spite of your earning his wrath. Death is not the worst thing that can happen to you. Not believing that God will reward you for seeking him is.
His favor is based on his goodness not yours. Trying to achieve it based on your own goodness is futile. You need him to make you good.
You choose to train yourself to do good or to do evil with each decision you make. You are rightly impressed that the Lord Jesus helps you train yourself to be godly by the power of the Holy Spirit so you can pause and voluntarily hand the reins over to God to call the shots before each decision.
“… train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” ~ 1 Timothy 4:7-8
You are rightly impressed that he preserves and strengthens your soul so that you can persevere listening for needs when others bare their soul. You speak to them with kindness for their good. You are rightly impressed that he changes you so that you can bear with suffering according to God’s will and entrust your soul to your faithful Creator while doing good.
“And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” ~ John 17:3
Singing Psalm 104 you are rightly impressed with how God cares for you
You are rightly impressed with the depth and detail of how God cares for you.
Imagine you were locked in a dark dungeon but the whole while knowing that a wise, powerful, and loving person knows where you are. Imagine that this person is unstoppable and that you know with absolute certainty that this person will either show up and save you now, or you will die and this person will save you through death.
It is with this circumstance-transcending confidence that you can wait with joy on this earth through physical or emotional suffering/paralysis, and even through death for not one, but three persons, to save you. You are rightly impressed with the matchless triune God.
No matter how uncertain, sad, or desperate your situation looks or feels, the Lord your God is with you in it.
Suffering is a temporary phase in his process of making everything new and his sure plan to reverse every evil thing. So you are rightly impressed that the Lord Jesus can help you find him in your emotions, that God can help you live with him in your pain.
Singing Psalm 104, you are rightly impressed that God will bring every sad heart who trusts in him to gladness. He helps you overcome a difficult childhood and look past the temptation to defend yourself so that you can communicate with reverence and respect protecting the dignity of others. You ask questions with care in order to understand and not to cross-examine or interrogate.
Death and all the suffering that leads up to it was brought into the world through the rebellion of our first parents when they ate from the one forbidden tree.
After Adam and Eve hid, God initiated, “Where are you?”
God made them clothing to wear, had a plan in place to restore them, and sent them out of the garden away from the tree of life lest they eat of it and live forever in a state that is separated from God. Instead, God holds them back until they are restored in Christ and would eat from the tree of life and live forever walking with God once again.
Peter denied Jesus, who is the Holy One of God, who is God, the Son, who was anointed with God, the Holy Spirit and power, who always pleases God, the Father, before he died for the sins of his people and rose again.
After Peter hid, Jesus initiated, “Do you have any fish?”
Jesus made Peter breakfast to eat, restored him, and sent him out to feed his sheep and would one day eat from the tree of life and live forever walking with Jesus once again.
Like every human being since the fall of man to the present time and until the return of Jesus:
You fail.
You fear.
You hide.
Like he does for all his people:
God initiates with you.
He restores you.
God makes his home with you forever.
He equips you and sends you to feed his sheep.
God made all three trees: the tree that judged, the tree upon which he would be cursed, and the tree of life.
The curse is reversed.
Jesus gives eternal life in providing access for his people to one day eat of the fruit of the tree of life after his death on the tree where he bore our curse from judgment for our sin that began when his first image-bearers ate the fruit from the forbidden tree.
The triune God amazes you with the works he does and enjoys for his people, the sheep of his pasture who hear his voice. He reverses every evil thing both outside of you and within you. He works far beyond what anyone could ask or imagine, and you are rightly impressed as you look to, wait on, hope in, and find yourself home with him even now.
“Forever may The LORD’s glory stand;The LORD will enjoy The works of His hand….
“As long as I live, the LORD I will praise;To God I will sing Throughout all my days.May my meditation be Pleasing to Him;My heart in the LORD Then with gladness will brim.” ~ Psalm 104:31, 33-34
January 20 – 27, 2023
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