In what has become one of my favorite passages in Scripture over the past two years, God appears to Moses atop Sinai and reveals himself in a stunning way: "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness..." (Exodus 34:6).
It seems fitting to me that one of the definitive descriptions of God has defined this last year of my life. In every area, I can proclaim God's mercy, his faithfulness and his steadfast love. From providing a wonderful job to healing the depression Jaimie has struggled with, and from our marriage to our church community group, God has shown himself incomparably faithful.
More than that, though, he has demonstrated time and again in my heart that he is loving and merciful. On days when I was weary, he succored me. In the depths of fear, he comforted me. When tormented by my sins, he rescued me. He is the actor, author, subject of the sentence—and I am but the object.
The revelation of God's faithfulness, love, mercy and goodness has a counterpart in our utter dependence. This has been a strange and beautiful transformation: in knowing God more deeply, learning who and what I am as well. He is the completion of all our stories. Our lives have no meaning apart from him.
I am not saying simply that God gives our lives meaning; I am saying that He gives our lives.It is not merely that he gives us air to breathe: he is the air we breathe. Without him, life is not, and in Him life is. The more I come to understand this, the more I live. The most joyous moments of our lives are those when we cast ourselves most thoroughly onto Him and grasp most fully that He is our only strength, our only hope and our only life.
Your last paragraph is almost exactly what God reminded me of as I read my old journals yesterday: We are not entitled to anything. Every good thing we have is from him! It's so awesome that we have the same thing on our hearts, husband. :)
ReplyDelete