Letting God Be God

Dannah Gresh: When Jesus took on a human body, He took on many of our weaknesses and limitations, too. According to Andrea Griffith, there’s comfort in that thought.

Andrea Griffith: Jesus has walked this road. He knows what it costs to be human in ministry. And He's not standing over us with a clipboard, asking us to get it all right, asking us to be above who He created us to be, finite beings. He's actually with us, full of compassion for all that we're juggling, all that we're walking with. 

Dannah: This is the Revive Our Hearts podcast with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, author of Incomparable, for August 21, 2026. I’m Dannah Gresh.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: If you’re walking through the Revive Our Hearts' 2026 Bible reading plan with us, today we’re reading the last three chapters of the book of Lamentations. That's where we find the famous “Great is Your faithfulness” verse. The faithfulness of God is one of His many attributes. Our guest today, Andrea Griffith, is about to explain that some of His attributes are things we can imitate (like faithfulness), but some we can’t. I’ll let her explain. 

Andrea is a pastor’s wife, a mom, speaker and writer. She’s ministered to women in hundreds of local churches and spoken at national conferences where she shares her unique story of God’s amazing grace at work in her life. She and her husband, Trent, are longtime friends of mine. They have four adult children and live near St. Augustine, Florida.

You’ll hear her mention a ministry for pastors’ wives called Parakaleo. That’s a Greek word that speaks of “coming alongside.” Not too long ago, Andrea joined us over a video call to speak to the Revive Our Hearts staff in one of our chapel services, and I wanted to share her message with you. Now let’s listen to Andrea Griffith.

Andrea: When was the last time that you felt completely overwhelmed? And then maybe even you felt guilty that you were overwhelmed. 

I know for me this weekend, I was trying to make everything as perfect as I could for my four kids and their spouses and my granddaughter. I wanted every person to feel seen and loved and valued, which for me meant a spotless house, grocery shopping, meal planning. All the prep, comfortable rooms, fun plans for everybody. While I was trying to wrap up three discipleship groups in a Bible study that we've been doing all year. I'm also juggling being a church planting pastor's wife, so there's always something that needs attention, my own time with Jesus, my exercise hygiene.

I realized all of a sudden that I might be taking on a little bit too much when a hawk showed up in our backyard and kept trying to attack the baby mockingbirds. That there was a nest in my backyard. And here I am trying to save the baby mockingbirds. 

And at that point, I was feeling a little overwhelmed and started to realize, Wait a minute, I think I am trying to be “omni” at this time. And I think every person in ministry knows that feeling. We carry this impossible weight—ministry, marriages of other hurting people, the radio and podcast programs that we're trying to produce—but we're also carrying our own families, friendships, being involved in a local church, carrying our own souls and trying to shepherd them well, all without dropping anything, right? 

And we're attempting to be “omni.” And I take on “omni” without even realizing it as I just shared with you my list. I want to be helpful. I desperately want my life to point others to Jesus. And yet when I'm taking on too much, I find that I'm just overwhelmed, and then I'm feeling guilty because I'm overwhelmed. 

I wish that I had had a name for this in my younger years of ministry. I wish I'd found the ministry of Parakaleo sooner just to know, Okay, wait a minute, we're trying to be “omni” right now. I think I would have saved myself from saying yes to too many things and major burnout. It would have helped me realize that when I'm living as if I'm “omni,” I'm living as if God can't handle things . . . so I have to. 

I'm living as if I have to increase and I'm unintentionally making Him decrease because I'm not looking to Him. I need Him. Psalm 145, “The eyes of all look to you and you give them their food in due season” (v. 15). 

But many times we don't look to him because we're looking more at ourselves. So I want us to look honestly at what happens when we try to be “omni.” Then we're going to turn to what it looks like to let God be God again. 

So let's start with Isaiah 40. This is verses 28 through 29. It says this:

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
   the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
   his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
   and to him who has no might he increases strength. 

So first of all, I want us just to look up to know who God is. I'd love to ask you your favorite name for God or your favorite characteristic of God. This is one of my favorite things to talk about, because every time I'm thinking of who He is, I feel my shoulders kind of relax. 

What is it about God that you love? What's the name of God that you run to again and again? It could be things like love, that He is faithful, that He is sovereign, that He is good. I've been focusing lately on how God is good. He is great. He is gracious. What is it about God that you love? 

So as we're thinking about those, we have some attributes of God that are communicable—that we can actually be like God.

• We can grow in holiness like God. 
• We can grow in kindness.
• We can grow in patience. 

But what I want to talk about today is three incommunicable attributes of God. Things that we cannot do in our humanity. We are limited. So here these three are. 

God is omnipotent. He is all powerful. Listen to Psalm 62:11. It says: 

Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God. 

So what's that telling us? That God holds power over all creation; that God is sovereign over every outcome that we right now are white-knuckling over. We're worried, we're concerned, but God never runs out of energy or authority or resources. 

The second characteristic I want to talk about today is that God is omniscient. He is all knowing. Psalm 147:5 says: 

Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure. 

So God is aware of, understands, and comprehends the fullness of everyone and everything. He sees the whole story. He sees every person's history, their wounds, and their needs. I don't. I tend to step in one chapter. And sometimes I think because I know the one chapter, I think I know the whole book. But that's not reality. Only God knows that. 

Thirdly, God is omnipresent. He is everywhere at once. Psalm 139:7–8 says this: 

Where shall I go from your spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I were to ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 

So this is telling us God is fully present in every place at every moment. He doesn't have to divide Himself thinly. He is completely present to every person simultaneously. 

But all of these are characteristics that only God has. We don't have them, and yet we attempt to live like this. So, I want to ask you a question, “What does it look like when you are trying to be omnipotent? When you're trying to do it all? When you're trying to fix it all?” If you're taking notes write down on your paper: what does it look like when I'm trying to do it all, when I'm trying to fix it all? 

For me, it looks: 

• Controlling, maybe no rest. 
• I tend to become prayerless because I don't have time for prayer. I'm trying to fix everything. 
• I become anxious. 
• Maybe I never admit weakness. 
• When I start to think of how that affects others, I think many times I miss out on what God is doing. 
• I miss out on the wonder of it all because I'm so focused on myself and what I'm trying to do so that my eyes aren't on what He is actually doing. 

Think about what it's like when you're trying to be omniscient, when you're trying to know it all: 

• I think of this world of technology; it can really look like over-researching. 
• At times in my life, it has looked like too many words, just talking, talking, talking, trying to figure it out. 
• It can look like arrogance or even no empathy because I'm just trying to figure it out. 
• I'm not really present in the moment. I'm not resting in the One who does know it all. 

And then what does it look like when you're trying to be omnipresent, trying to be everywhere for everyone like I was last week, trying to do it all, fix it all, show up for everyone. And I can tell you from first hand experience, for me: 

• That looks like exhaustion. 
• It looks like no margin. 
• I'm scattered. 
• I'm constantly saying yes. 
• And because I'm constantly saying yes, now I'm pulled in every direction, and I'm distracted. 
• I become shallow. 

How might that affect others? When I'm living like that, I have no joy. I'm running on very little rest, so I'm gonna be short-tempered. I have a short fuse. All because I am trying to be things that only God can be. 

And here is the hard reality underneath all of that: when we are trying to be omnipotent, omniscient, or omnipresent, we're not just burning out, but we're actually operating as functional atheists. We're living as though God is not enough or that God is not there. 

My mom died when she was really young; she was only fifty-two. Those last couple of weeks of her life, I was the one there taking care of her. I remember one of the things she said to me during those last two weeks. She just said, “Andrea, you are just like me, and you're probably going to die young.” 

I remember taking that really to heart. Like, I've always kind of believed that I am probably going to die young like my mom. So if that's true, I've got to make the most of my time. Now, is that true? It is true. Scripture says that it's wisdom to number our days, that we are to live wise in these evil days. 

And yet, it's a partial truth, because if I am taking that and applying it as if I've got to do it all, be it all for everybody—if I see a need I have to meet it, if someone's hurting I have to be the one to fix it. I have to be able to get down to that root issue and just have the perfect Scripture and then walk with them until they're completely out of this thing that they're struggling with. Then I'm taking that a little bit too extreme and maybe I am becoming or attempting to become “omni.” 

I saw that happen as a pastor's wife in a growing church, as a mom with four children and fostering a little boy. I could not seem to discern what was uniquely mine to do and what others could do. I couldn't seem to discern, How do I rest in God when I'm juggling so much?

Eventually, I just became stuck in fight-or-flight because I was constantly saying yes to every need around me. God was so gracious. He brought me this teaching. 

Honestly, every day I have to remind myself who is “omni” because, like I described to you at the beginning of our time together, I can slip right back into trying to meet every need and to be “omni” before I even know it. 

But listen to what Scripture says. Psalm 46:10: 

Be still and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations.
I will be exalted in the earth.

Being still is actually an act of worship. I've been introduced this year to centering prayer where I focus on a Scripture passage and then just center everything around me, around what the Word of God says. So as thoughts come into my mind of things I need to do the next day, I just let those thoughts go, or maybe I write them down to make a list and then I bring my mind back to, “Who is God? How can I be still and know that He is God?” 

It's everything I shared at the beginning: that He is faithful, that He is good, that He is gracious before us. Being still and knowing that He is God is actually an act of worship. 

 

I want us to think now about Jesus. Think about Jesus when He was here on earth. He was God incarnate, and yet when we watch Him walking on earth, Jesus voluntarily withheld His “omni.” He chose limits. 

Think about Philippians 2: 

Though Jesus was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but [instead he] emptied himself, by taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself. (vv. 6–8)

Over and over in Scripture, we see Jesus choosing limits. 

So if we take our three words, instead of omnipotence, we see Jesus choosing dependence. Think about John 5:19. It says: 

The Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees his Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. 

So here's Jesus with all power at his disposal. Do you remember when they came to get Him in the Garden of Gethsemane? He did speak a word and they kind of all fell, but He could have done anything. He could have rescued Himself in that moment. 

I just finished reading through Jesus in the desert after He's been baptized and the Spirit leads Him into the wilderness and Satan comes to tempt Him. Jesus could have done anything He wanted at that time. He could have turned those stones into bread. 

Jesus withheld His "omni." He was looking at the Father and living in moment by moment communion with the Father . . . and that was not weakness. It was the most powerful way for Jesus to live so that He could live out our perfection for us. He chose weakness. He chose limits so that he could ultimately accomplish salvation on our behalf. 

So, what would that look like for us this week? To say, “I am doing nothing on my own accord, but I am looking and listening for what God the Father would have me do today.” What is it that is for me to say yes to? How can I lean into the Spirit to hear that? 

Also, instead of omniscience, Jesus chose humility. Think about the different times in the Scripture that Jesus chose humility. One of my favorites is in John chapter 4 when Jesus is sitting at the well. He turns to the Samaritan woman, and He literally asks the Samaritan woman for water. This is Jesus, the Fountain of Living Water, and yet He is asking a human being for water. 

He created space for connection with her before He revealed who He was. He created that space for connection before leading with truth, with what He knew. He was present with her there before He revealed the truth of who He was. So, He was humble. Jesus was dependent. He was humble. 

Instead of omnipresence, Jesus again and again chose to be local. He chose to be with His disciples. He chose to be worshiping in the temple with the people. But one of my favorite snapshots of Jesus choosing to be local is a famous story that you're all familiar with: John chapter 11, when Lazarus died. 

Do you remember the sisters sent Him a message and said, “He's sick.” And then we know from Scripture that Jesus chose to stay four more days where He was, and then Jesus went. Jesus said to the disciples, “Lazarus is asleep, but we're going to go ahead and go.” The disciples are asking questions. “If he's asleep, why are we going?” So in John 11:14: 

Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake, I am glad that I was not there, that you may believe.” (vv. 14–15)

When Jesus was not at Lazarus's bedside when he died, He was somewhere else. In Jesus' physical absence, something greater happened that would not have happened with His presence. His limits became the place for resurrection. The disciples got to see more of who Jesus was. We get to see more of who Jesus was because He chose the limits. For us, our absence from a particular place may not be failure because God is not limited by our location. 

Jesus has walked this road. He knows what it costs to be human in ministry. He's not standing over us with a clipboard asking us to get it all right, asking us to be above who He created us to be, finite beings. He's actually with us, full of compassion for all that we're juggling, all that we're walking with. 

So how do we do this? We get to lean into and follow the Spirit. When Jesus went back to heaven, He left us the Holy Spirit, who lives in each of us. He can point us to different ways of living that are opposite of our “omni” striving, trying to be. And you are very familiar with these. 

So first of all, instead of omnipotence, He invites us to become this expectant ezer. We talk about this, we teach this. In Genesis chapter 2, verse 18, God calls the woman an ezer, “a helper.” We know that all throughout Scripture, God uses that same word to call Himself a Helper. 

Listen to Psalm 121: 

I lift my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD
who made heaven and earth. (vv. 1–2)

So we are a helper, we are that ezer. As we're getting those letters saying, “I got to hear Nancy and Dannah teach these things, but how do I apply it?” We get those letters coming in, and we get to answer them. 

So we are the ezers, helping all the different things we're doing in our line of work. But we are helpers only because God is our Helper first. Our strength flows from His. We do not have to generate power. We get to receive it from Him. We're not the rescuer, but we get to carry the Rescuer's presence. 

Instead of omniscience, instead of us thinking that we have to know everything, we're invited to be a listening learner. Proverbs 2:6 says: 

For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 

So today, I don't have to know everything about everyone. God knows. My job today is to listen to God, to others—the person that I'm ministering to. When we listen with an open, unhurried posture, we get to sit with God and the other person together. We get to sit with the question and trust that God holds the answer. We're just getting to invite that person to the feet of Jesus, which is exactly where we are. We're sitting at the feet of Jesus with our eyes fixed on Him. 

Instead of omnipresence, we are invited to be a peaceful presence. Isaiah 26:3 says: 

You keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you. 

We don't have to be everywhere. God continues to restore all things, even in our absence. But what we can offer and what no one else in the room can offer is our fully present, undivided, Spirit-filled self, which is worth more than a scattered version of us trying to be at five different places at once. 

We get to rest, not because everything is resolved, but because the One who never sleeps is awake and is at work. Our sleeping, our resting, our trusting is an act of worship. It's an act of trust. 

So, let's bring this home. I want you to think of an issue or the role or the weight that you are carrying today. What is it? Maybe write it down on that piece of paper. Can you just name that to the Lord right now?

“Father, You already know that this is what I'm carrying. This is what I cannot fix. But this is what I repeatedly see myself trying to fix. I’m trying to be omnipresent, researching it all to figure it out, spinning in my mind to figure it all out. I just want to bring it to Your feet right now.” 

As your heart is there, just in a posture of prayer, could I just ask you three questions? 

What would change if you stopped trying to be God in this situation and simply worshipped the One who is? Remember those names of God where we started? If we remember that You are faithful, You are good, You are gracious, You are sovereign., You are the healer,  You are my comforter., You are the lover of my soul; so I can rest. 

Then if you take that situation that you have in your mind and we look at Jesus, just like Jesus chose dependency and humility and to limit Himself with that situation, where can you choose dependence, humility, or a limit this week? What would that look like? Maybe maybe write it down.

“Father, where are You asking me to depend on You? Where are You asking me to choose humility? To actually limit myself so that You are at work, so I can see you work?

Then lastly, where are you being called to be an expectant ezer? We are a helper, but only because we have the One who helps us eternally, constantly helping us. God, are you inviting me to be an expected ezer, a listening learner, or a peaceful presence in this hard situation right now? 

And just a reminder of a couple of truths: because of who God is, we are free to be replaceable. We're free to say no. We're free to be more curious than certain. We're free to let God surprise us in our absence. We're free to lie down and sleep. 

Second Corinthians 12:9: 

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 

This is the gospel of our limits. Our weakness is not a problem to be solved. We're human; God made us finite. Our weakness is the very place where the power of Christ chooses to show up. 

 

I don't know what problem you wrote down. I don't know where God may have shown you that you're trying to be “omni,” but I can relate. I struggle with it daily. And just as we close, could I pray for us? Could I just spend our time in prayer? 

Oh Lord Jesus, I thank You that You are good. You are sovereign. You are omnipresent. God, you are omnipotent. You are omniscient. And so, God, I don't have to be. 

I can rest in Your goodness. I can rest in Your sovereignty. And God, as we so want to please You, as we so want to point others to You, because God, You have rescued us from so many things. You have rescued us from ourselves. You've rescued us from the pit. We want to point others to You as the great Rescuer. And yet in that, would You help us let You be You, You be God? Help us to choose moment by moment a sweet dependency on You, a sweet humility, choosing limits, choosing to know that You are things that we are not. 

Would you help us choose Your presence, to keep our eyes fixed on You, so that we can be a calm, peaceful presence to the people that You've called us to minister to. We love You, Jesus. We thank You that we get to know You and get to be your children. In Jesus' name we pray all these things, amen.

Nancy: Amen! Andrea Griffith has been praying that we would surrender those areas where we’re trying to be “omni.” I hope you’ll take some time today to think about where you may be trying to take the place of God. What’s one thing you can do to rest more in His plan?

Dannah: Hmm, I can so relate to what Andrea shared! I know when I’m trying to do it all myself, it doesn’t go well for me physically, emotionally, relationally, or spiritually. So I’m saying amen, too. 

That’s what’s so key about the message of freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ. We lack those things when we try to do it all ourselves. And conversely, when we accept our limitations and rest in the Lord, we find freedom. We find fullness in Him; we become more fruitful. 

If you’ve ever made a donation to Revive Our Hearts, you’re helping us get the message of freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ to women not only in your community, but around the world. 

Do you know someone who speaks Farsi, the Persian language? We have a Farsi outreach . . . and Portuguese . . . and español . . . and German . . . French . . . and more! For a list of all the languages Revive Our Hearts is in, check it out at ReviveOurHearts.com/languages. 

We’ve heard about rest some today. Do you ever feel like your eyes need a rest? Like you just need to look at something beautiful and worship God? Our donation-of-any-amount resource for this month might help you do just that. We asked Revive Our Hearts staff to submit their prettiest photos from all around the world. We sorted through and compiled them into a book called Finding Beauty in Every Season. 

It’s a great way to remind yourself of the beauty of God’s creation. It comes with Scripture verses and inspirational quotes from Nancy. So if you find yourself trying to be “omni,” you can pull out Finding Beauty in Every Season and remind yourself of who’s in charge. We’ll send you a copy when you request it along with your donation of any amount. To do that, contact us at ReviveOurHearts.com, or call 1-800-569-5959.

This month we’ve been taking a closer look at various seasons in a woman’s life. Next week, we’ll talk about leaving a legacy to the generations that follow. Jani Ortlund will cast a vision for passing the truth on all the way to the tenth generation—great-great-great grandchildren, who don’t even exist yet. 

Have a great weekend. Reflect on the beauty of the Lord in church with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Then, please be back Monday for Revive Our Hearts.

This program is a listener-supported production of Revive Our Hearts in Niles, Michigan, calling women to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

All Scripture is taken from the ESV.

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