How far is His reach?

“My tears have been my food day and night … O My God, my soul is cast down … deep cries out to deep … why have You forgotten me …” (Selected verses from Psalm 42, NKJV)

  We cannot know of the limitlessness of God’s power and knowledge.  The comprehension of the incomprehensible is too great for us. If we could travel to the highest heavens or to the deepest depths of the abyss of hell itself, we can never go so far as to find a place where God is not present (Psalm 139). We can however find ourselves in a place where we do not sense Him or in our minds conceive or imagine Him to be distant or absent.

      There is a deepness to the agony we feel when we cannot sense our God.  There is a deepness in that loneliness.  There is a deepness like no other in our feeling alone, overwhelmed by despair and abandoned in the tragic and devastating situations we feel swirling around us.  We feel so very alone in these deep places when all reason and understanding eludes us, when tears flood over us like a swollen river or when we wander aimlessly in the fog of anguish hopelessly hopeless in finding a way out of these deep places.  We may feel abandoned but we are not.

      In the deepest agony when even the rock of faith and relationship we have with our God seems to give way and we cry out with groanings too deep for words … He is hearing us and the grace in His reach is upon us.  God’s reach comes to our deepest places because the deepest places of loneliness were redeemed by our Lord Jesus Christ as He experienced the deepest place of loneliness separated from His Father on the cross. His abandonment in that place secures our hope for any deep place we encounter.  The deepness of our pain and loneliness is never beyond the reach of the grace freely given by the Creator of the heavens and the earth nor is the deepness of the need beyond the power of His love to lift us to His presence. No matter what bleakness one may encounter in life, the brilliance of God’s love and mercy can melt it away if we simply remember His faithfulness in the past, grasp unto the power of His deliverance for today and hold unto the promises of our hope in Him for the future.  No matter what we feel at the moment, we are never out of His reach.

“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God,  for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:11, NIV).

Suggested Reading … Psalm 42

The heavens declare …

“And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD? God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?”  (Psalm 89:5-8, KJV)

  We gaze up into the heavens and we see tiny spots of brilliant light. Some are stars that are dying and some are stars being born.  We long to recognize the planets and constellations and galaxies.  Beyond the flickering lights we can barely see are the countless others that we cannot see. We cannot begin to comprehend the size of each star nor the number of the stars in a single galaxy. Still beyond those staggering dimensions and quantities are the galaxies yet unknown.  Such is the vastness of the heavens above us.

     What we see and know is such a minuscule part of the vastness of the world and the heavens.   What we believe and know is such a minuscule part of the vastness of God and yet He created the world and the heavens.  So how much greater is God and His love than the vastness of the world and the heavens we see.  Oh the wonders of God, we have yet to see!!! 

Suggested Reading … Psalm 89

You can't move into the promised land without reflective and courageous faith.

“Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.  Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:6-9, ESV).

  Joshua was a strong and powerful man.  He was a man willing to stand with conviction, faith and courage when others faltered, failed and retreated in their calling. He was a man of extraordinary patience and loyalty as he waited for the direction and timing of the Lord before moving into the Promised Land.   He was a man of unwavering belief and complete obedience.

     We see the courageous and solid faith of Joshua and it is often noted as the mark of this great man but there is more.  All faith has to have a deeper aspect than simply a resemblance to boldness and courage.  True courage comes out of faith. What looks like courage without the foundational substance is momentary, shallow and pride seeking.  The courage of Joshua came from his deep faith as he boldly stands in the unreasonable and unthinkable, as he obeys while waiting a lifetime for the promises of God and carrying and sustaining him through many battles and difficulties.  None of his life experience was easy.  There had to have been countless times of agony, pain and wondering. 

     Faith doesn’t automatically just rise up on those occasions.  Our faith must always and continually be fixed on God.  Joshua’s faith was fixed on the Almighty God, he knew and trusted.  Our faith must be fixed on God as well.  Faith remains fixed in the struggle, in the waiting, in the daunting, in the impossible and in the sustaining through everything we encounter and face.

     By our faith … we trust as we look back, around and ahead.  As we trust … we feel, think and reflect.  Depending on the deepness of the circumstance, situation, problem, or difficulty … more thought and reflection might be needed before we ever proceed ahead.  Reflection is meditating and it is often a deep place of yearning to understand, contemplation and evaluation. Our reflection and meditating might drift around in the current of the moment but it can only find direction in something of substance such as faith and relationship.  We reflect back on experiences through remembrances, around in assessment and forward with directive.  If we stand in and on our faith, we then obey the direction of God through His Word and His Spirit. This is where the courage of Joshua came from and this is where the courage in our faith will come from.  You cannot venture or move into the land of God’s promises without reflective and courageous faith.  A faith that is securely fixed upon the Almighty God we see and know and a trusting and loving relationship with Him.  

Suggested Reading ... Joshua 1

His Word is more than just words.

“The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.” (Psalm 19:9-10, NIV).

  What is in a word? Is it just a combination letters that a culture accepts as the correct word for a specific subject, descriptor, action or connector written or spoken in some form of communication? Why do some words conjure up strong emotion and others elicit wonderful memories of days gone by? How is it that a few well-chosen emphatically connected words can soothe a heart during a very difficult time of loss or heartbreak between friends or family?

We all know that words are very powerful and they can hurt or bless when they are used. We also understand the meaning of someone giving their word, as a verbal guarantee or promise. In a sense most written words are more significant than verbal words and can deliver powerful directives or important thoughts long after spoken words have passed from memory.

     Are the words of God different than our words? God’s words are found in His Word the Bible and they are most certainly and definitely are very different than our words. In some ways God’s words are similar to our words.  Some of His words elicit powerful images of His character, attributes and essence. Words are also used in the Bible to describe God’s interaction with His children and they convey His judgment, concern, grace, love and provision. Still God’s words are vastly different that human words because as He spoke them, they are truth and they remain so forever. God’s words are His Word and they were intentionally given by Him directly or through His prophets, kings or servants. They are true and full of life for all of His children. They are full of protection, provision and blessing.  God’s Word will always protect us from sin and give us understanding of His love for us as children. Word will always benefit us and lead us on the paths everlasting. God’s Word is light and life. God’s Word is truth and when it is hidden in our hearts, it protects us and guides us (Psalm 119:11; 119:105). God’s Word stands above all else, “"As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD's word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him” (2 Samuel 22:31 NKJV). Above all else … as Jesus revealed and relayed the eternal and everlasting Word of God to us by His life and His speaking for His Father in heaven.  He was the Word of God in the flesh and now is the Living Word in glory forever more.  The Word of God is the only word that will last forever. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35 NIV). 

     The very best thing we can do with the Word of God is to let it reveal God himself to us through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.  We will sense Him as God and find ourselves in awe of who He is and His love for us.  Our hearts and lives will change and we will be filled with the life of Christ now and forever (John 6:68) as we read His Word because He is alive in the Word.  "But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice" (Luke 11:28 NIV).   

Suggested Reading ... Psalm 19

Being thankful in the season of thanksgiving.

“Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15, ESV).

  Sometimes we don’t understand the gift of love upon us because we don’t have the capacity to comprehend its fullness.  Sometimes we can’t appreciate the protective qualities love brings to our lives us because we bristle as it contains our desires of independence.  Sometimes we cannot distance ourselves from the falseness of the lies making love about ourselves that abound in our culture.  God loves us and His love is upon us.   Still we are limited in our capacity to grasp the vastness of His love.  We may resist the rules of His commandments and pathways often forgetting His precious desire for us to prosper following His ways.  We may stumble around a-bit as we let our selfishness rule in our hearts but none of this, changes God’s love for us.

     May we remember Christ earnestly desires to bring us under His care even after our failure and sin much as He longed to shelter the people of Jerusalem against the impending danger before them (Mt. 23:37).  May we understand His protective love is still upon us even as we selfishly rebel against His Word and His Spirit.  What a powerful thing to be covered by God’s love as wings that would cover us (Deuteronomy 32:11, Ps 17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 61:4; 63:7; 91:4) and protect us even as are like scattered chicks lost in the storm because we think there is no danger.

     May we cast aside selfishness and see the blessed perfectness in the sacrificial love of our Lord.  May we love Him with all our heart, soul and mind instead of being in love with the world, realizing the pursuits of the world pass away but the love of God is eternal (1 Thessalonians 5:21-24; 1 John 2:15-17). May we mature in our understanding to go beyond childish feelings … to understand God’s steadfast love, beholding in wonderment the endless reality of His love being is indescribable and eternal (Ephesians 2:17-21). May we realize His love is upon the whole world and everyone in it. May we be generous with others remembering His great generosity to us.

     All that God gives to us, is multiplied in our generosity to others.  We do not give to others desiring praise but out of our thankfulness in knowing God’s love.  When our giving is selfless and unto God, we are blessed and our lives are enriched by His love and presence (1 Corinthians 4:6-14). 

     Realizing any of this should make us truly thankful during this season of Thanksgiving. Is there any greater thing in the world than to be thankful for God’s love through Christ in making us His children? Is there any greater thing than to give unto others out of His great love and share with them in their needs when God has so richly blessed us?

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1, NKJV)

Suggested Reading ... 2 Corinthians 9