When God Can “Be God”
“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.” - Psalm 34:17-20
Do you ever feel too “dirty” to be in the presence of God? Maybe you have done something, or maybe you have done a lot of somethings, and you just don’t feel like you deserve a relationship with God.
Yesterday we talked about the picture of a child who has played in the dirt and now it is time to go inside. But they are at a friend’s house, a friend with a really nice home, and they just don’t feel like they can go inside. Why? Because they are too dirty, and they would “mess up the clean home.”
Many believers (and non-believers) struggle with this same idea when it comes to God. They think that they are too dirty to enter into the presence of God. So they do one of two things. They either don’t go to God at all, or they try to “get clean” before they enter into His presence.
But what if God didn’t need you to get clean first? What if He wanted you to come to Him NOW, exactly as you are? The truth is, God doesn’t need you to get clean first. He needs you to come to Him and allow Him to work as only He can.
Psalm 34:17-20 says, “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.”
God wants you to come to Him now. You don’t have to get clean first. When you come to God now, God can “be God.” He can do what only He can do. Perhaps the reason you haven’t gotten clean yet is because you’ve tried to do it all on your own.
What if you came to Him instead, and let Him help?
Do you ever feel too “dirty” to be in the presence of God? Maybe you have done something, or maybe you have done a lot of somethings, and you just don’t feel like you deserve a relationship with God.
Yesterday we talked about the picture of a child who has played in the dirt and now it is time to go inside. But they are at a friend’s house, a friend with a really nice home, and they just don’t feel like they can go inside. Why? Because they are too dirty, and they would “mess up the clean home.”
Many believers (and non-believers) struggle with this same idea when it comes to God. They think that they are too dirty to enter into the presence of God. So they do one of two things. They either don’t go to God at all, or they try to “get clean” before they enter into His presence.
But what if God didn’t need you to get clean first? What if He wanted you to come to Him NOW, exactly as you are? The truth is, God doesn’t need you to get clean first. He needs you to come to Him and allow Him to work as only He can.
Psalm 34:17-20 says, “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.”
God wants you to come to Him now. You don’t have to get clean first. When you come to God now, God can “be God.” He can do what only He can do. Perhaps the reason you haven’t gotten clean yet is because you’ve tried to do it all on your own.
What if you came to Him instead, and let Him help?
Free Email Devotional - Sign Up Now
Recent
Archive
2026
January
When Prayer Feels Like Bad ReceptionTeach Us to Pray AgainRelationship Over RequestsPulled Toward HeavenWhen God Says No, Slow, Grow, or GoPray Bigger PrayersPray Without Ceasing in Real LifeWhen Persistence Feels PointlessWhen Darkness Reacts to LightWorship as WarfareChains Fall in His PresenceNot Who I Used to BeWhen God Reveals the BattleNo Fear in the Presence of PowerSet Free to WorshipVictory Is NowWhat You Love, You ShareGod Has a Brag Book, and You’re in ItThe Moment You Missed and the Mercy That RemainsBetter Today Than YesterdayAvailability Over AbilityThe Search for SignificanceWhen God Sets Up the MomentExplain the Hope Within YouThe Gospel Starts Where People AreSalt Has to Leave the ShakerWhat Defines You Determines YouYou’re Richer Than You RealizeThe Quiet Sin No One ConfessesYou Can’t Serve Two MastersThe Token That Stopped Spending
2025
January
Why Me?Ordinary but ChosenYour Past Prepares You for God's FutureWhy Not Me?The Burden of PreparationIt’s Bigger Than YouJust Show UpAnchored in PrayerBreakthrough Was Always God's PlanWaiting on Your BreakthroughTransformative Power of PrayerThe Art of PrayerThe God of BreakthroughKryptoniteLifelineThe Dare of DependenceWho Needs Your Prayers?Soaring in PrayerObedience Through PrayerThe Power of Prayer in Overcoming TemptationIs Your Heart Prepared for God's Mighty Work?The Joy of SimplicityPatient in Affliction, Faithful in PrayerBurning PrayersWhile You Wait...He WorksChoosing His Will with Free WillEquipped for Victory: Overcoming Sin from WithinEverydayThe Great I AMSaying Yes to GodOrdinary People, Extraordinary God
February
Freedom from LabelsFaithful Before the AppointmentLabels Don’t Define YouPut Off the ArmorRun Your Own RaceA Champion, Not a ContestantThe Story’s Not OverWhat Really MattersWinning the Battle WithinYou Are Positioned for a PurposeYour Worth Is SetYou Are EnoughTake Off the MaskOn Purpose, For a PurposeKnown. Loved. Enough.What Are You Afraid of Losing?What Are You Trying to Hide?What Are You Still Trying to Prove?What Are You Chasing?Stop Faking ItAre You Living in Fear?Stop Hiding Behind FearLive in God’s TruthOne OpportunityYour Identity Is in ChristYou’re His WorkmanshipYour Weakness Doesn’t Disqualify YouYou’re in God’s Providence
No Comments