I will give you renown and praise

There's nothing like beginning your morning with a reading such as Zephaniah 3:19-20:

       Yes, at that time I will deal with all who oppress you; I will save the lame, and assemble the outcasts; I will give them praise and renown in all the earth, when I bring about their restoration. At that time I will bring you home, and at that time I will gather you; For I will give you renown and praise among all the peoples of the earth, When I bring about your restoration before your very eyes, says the Lord.

I do not know about you, but I tend to forget this passage. I tend to forget to ask God to restore me, to give me renown and praise. In other words, I tend to keep my request to God on the spiritual plane, and forget that God is interested in my temporal, physical, and very earthy life. In dealing with grace and virtue and spiritual mindedness, in trying to see God, I sometimes forget how God sees me. God knows that I am "fearfully, wonderfully made" and that success is not beyond a prayer.

In truth, I forget to ask God for BIG things. I content myself with little scraps of grace, of good fortune (which I see as blessings from God). I have been trained for so long on the "I don't deserve better" concept that it is still hard to believe that, no, God has made me "wonderfully" and that Jesus himself teaches us to ask.

Is this not one of the messages of the resurrection? Jesus did not just say we would live forever. Jesus came back after his death. He made the disciples breakfast. He sat with them and talked to them. He showed that all these things do not escape his attention.

I tend to think too small. I think I tend to stay with the small so I won't be disappointed. I forget, God is big, and can do great things. I need to ask. I need to remember Zephaniah.