All We Need To Know
“I just don’t know how I’m going to hold it all together!” She lamented more to herself than to me. Without a word, I watched her and just listened. She needed to vent. I knew that. I knew it, so I prayed and waited. I waited for her to unfold, to process, and finally…be ready to receive.
It took some time, but she got there. I knew she would. I knew she loved Jesus and that eventually, she would get there.
Looking up through eyes that glistened, she began to share how her life hadn’t turned out like she thought it would. She loved her husband, but had no idea how to love him well. She loved her children, but they were growing up before her eyes and she didn’t know how to wipe the sense of profound inadequacy that weighed heavier with every birthday.
She explained that there just had to be more. More peace, more victory, more hope, more joy, and, well…just more.
I couldn’t help but smile. Not at her aching, revealed heart, but at the irony. From the beginning of time, men and women have sought satisfaction and revelation, joy unshakeable and peace that passes understanding. It’s how we are hard wired. We are created to receive that which only God can give.
Our very souls hunger for a manna that His hands alone have made. And no matter how hard we look to the gods of this world, there is no substitute for the One who is the Author of it all.
So, as I continued to meet with this young woman, we started to unpack the character and nature of God together. Walking through the psalms, we began to write down all the character traits of God that we came across. And if the psalm repeated, “His love endures forever!” a thousand times, so did we. Over and over again, the character and power of God overwhelmed our time together with the poignancy of Who He is.
Mighty.
Holy.
Good.
Faithful.
Merciful.
Compassionate.
Patient.
Kind.
Loving.
Persistent.
Jealous.
Fierce.
Strong.
Healer.
The list grew longer than the pages we held could afford. And the strength of His character and goodness, provision, faithfulness, beauty, and majesty began to overshadow all the heaviness and uncertainty that our hearts fretted about.
My sweet friend’s countenance grew lighter, her brow less furrowed.
You see, you can’t be saturated with the character of God and still be afraid. It just doesn’t fit. He is everything we could ever need and there is nothing about Him that is deficient or small.
Yes, there will be mountains we face. And by His mercy and grace, some of those mountains will be thrown into the sea. But some of those mountains, we will still have to climb. And the same love that can move them is also able to carry us over them. That’s just who He is.
His purposes and plans are undefeatable. His power unchallenged. His goodness unmatched. And when you hold up the heaviness of your heart to the One who set it to beating, you just know it’s all gonna be ok.
My prayer for you today is that you would take those worries from around your neck (like my sweet friend and I did) and go on and hold them right up against the character of God. And when you find the courage to do just that, may you also find the courage to let them go. He is able. Yup. Even to hold that which you hold most dear…your family, your marriage, your health…all of it. He is trustworthy, my friends.
The song I want to share today is from one of my new favorite worship bands, Red Rocks Worship. The song is called, “Nobody Like You.” This song heralds the Truth and declaration that there is NO ONE like our God! Something each of us could use a little remindin’ of now and again.?
With joy for the journey,
Sarah
