Daniel, God is my Judge

This is the title of a mug that was given to me as a child once.

It was one of those mugs that was meant to tell you the meaning of your name. The rest of the text (that is on the mug) is below.

Daniel (God is my judge) you should always be aware of a judge who lives up there. Always watching you with love, be assured it’s God above!

It also has a picture on it, of a boy who had just broken a window, with the thought “WHOOPS!” There was then a big hand coming down through a cloud with an End of Year report on it.

I can remember never really liking this mug.
It painted a picture of a God who was watching my every move, and then compiling a large report of all that I was doing wrong. (I try not to dwell on how big this report was going to be. 🙂 )

I was not assured of a God who was above, but rather, I was concerned about a God who was watching my every move.

Needless to say, I tried to keep this mug at the back of the cupboard, just so that I wouldn’t have to look at it. 🙂

I have since become a Christian, and as such, I now understand some things a little bit better.

One of the things that I have come to understand is that “God is my judge” is a good thing to know, as a sinner who has been forgiven.
The end of year (or life) report has been dealt with by Jesus, at the cross. As such, I can now come to God with confidence, knowing that He Loves me and is even pleased with me. (Even when I’m not pleased with myself.)

God is my judge means that He sees what I’m trying to do, instead of the mess that I might actually be doing. 🙂

It actually means that there is a freedom for me to not be too concerned with what other people think of me, as God is my judge. (This is not a licence for me to do whatever I want to though, as God is my judge.)
But if I am more concerned with what God thinks of me, then I don’t need to be be worried about what others think of me, as it is His opinion of me that matters.

If I can truly grasp this, then I can know the freedom to be who I am meant to be. I can me, but walking in complete obedience to Him, my Loving Heavenly Father.

Father,
You see me and know me.
Forgive me and help me when I get things wrong.
Help me to always be moving closer to You.
My Loving Father.
Amen.