Fresh Brewed Faith

On a Scale of 1 to 10....How Do You Rate God?
By Criss Bertling

“A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:37-41 NIV

Rate God? How dare we rate the Creator of All Things, the God of Israel, the Great I Am! But here’s a reality we need to think about: We all do it, all day, every day. You don’t think so? Read on and see if you don’t change your mind.

The moon fades as dawn breaks. Your world is jolted into awareness by the face of the sun and a loud reminder of another day. You stretch to reach the alarm button and silence its annoying “GET UP NOW!” Do you. . .

__ Praise God for giving you another day to enjoy and serve Him

__ Groggily head for the shower, mumbling to yourself about all you have to do

__ Curse the day and all of the misery you expect it might bring to you

Your destination requires you to drive in morning traffic. Do you. . .

__ Praise God for a new day and a new beginning as you listen to some great worship music

__ Mindlessly traverse the interstate as the radio plays something in the background that you really don’t listen to

__ Curse those “idiots” who are in your way and don’t know how to drive

You spend your day on the job doing what you do every day. Do you. . .

__ Praise God for the gift of being able to earn a wage and feed your family

__ Do the minimum necessary to get through another day at work so you can go home

__ Complain to yourself all day about your boss, your coworkers, your miserable work environment

You arrive home at the end of your work day. Do you. . .

__ Praise God for the home and family you have been given, looking forward to spending time there

__ Grab something to eat and sit in front of the TV spending a mindless evening of being a Couch Potato

__ Complain about your day to everyone within earshot and making everyone else miserable because you are

Each one of your choices indicates your God rating. We all go through times that make it seem impossible to praise God and trust Him. I have found in my life that my God rating is directly related to the state of my relationship with Him at that time. Our relationship with Him is based on security, obedience, awareness of who He really is, our desire to know Him by spending time in his Word, our confidence in what He promises, and our trust in His truth. And because we are merely human, our circumstances often influence our relationship. You see, whether we realize it or not, we constantly rate God based on our own weaknesses and the difficulties we are facing in the moment.

Rate your relationship with God today on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best.

__ Your sense of security in His love

__ Your obedience to His commands

__ Your awareness of His nurture and care for you

__ Your effort to nurture your relationship with Him

__ Your confidence in His desire to reveal Himself to you

__ Your trust in God’s Word as truth

Even the disciples, who had seen Jesus heal the sick, raise the dead, call out demons, feed thousands, and countless other miracles, rated Him based on their own fears in a frightening storm where they had no control. And when Jesus showed them – yet again – that He was God the Son, they still were astounded and questioned who He was.

Examine your heart today and ask God to help you see any doubts, fears or guilt that might cause you to rate Him based on who you are and not who He is. Then throw away your score sheet and “Be still and know that [He is] God.” Your life will never be the same.