The Beauty of the Lord
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Psalms 139:1-6
O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me! Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; thou discernest my thoughts from afar. Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou dost beset me behind and before, and layest thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.
Psalm 27:4
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
I find is absolutely remarkable – inconceivable, really – that in spite of the fact that God has such intimate and intricate knowledge of me, that he chooses to love me anyway! Think about it: every thought, spoken or not; every lie, uttered or not; every action, seen or hidden; and he love us anyway. It is not possible for Him to NOT love us! When I really meditate upon this truth, I can’t help but think about pedophiles, murderers, and others whom most of us would consider repugnant. And when I really allow the thought of a God who loves even such as these to seep into my consciousness, I am further humbled and awed to be among His beloved.
To be loved by such a big God! To be cared about enough; to be so intimate with a being so great and mighty, so strong and yet so gentle; so giving and merciful. Wow! And I must admit that when I allow this truth to infiltrate my life—my life’s work, I find myself in three arenas. First, I long to minister to women – overburdened, broken, exhausted women – to help them discover or rediscover their own divinity and the divine purpose for their life that transcends the here and now of carpools and grocery shopping, PTA meetings and all the other to-do list items that make up their day. Second, I want to share the Good News with the world! What message! How could one be silent!!??
Finally, I am compelled to minister to the least and the last of society – in the prisons and the homeless shelters. To extend Christ’s love to such as these is not noble – not at all. It is the least I can do in return for the intimate and intricate love and mercy of my God and Lord. For the grace bestowed upon me by my Savior, I can do nothing less. That may sound kind of “out there.” And I would certainly not presume to tell anyone that any or all of these ministries is how they should invest their time and energy. These are merely the calls God has placed on my heart.
And I am more certain that I am in line with His divine plan for me as I work to arrange my life around these calls. I find more peace, more energy, more joy as I become more and more obedient. I desperately desire to behold the beauty of the Lord at the end of time! But what I have found is that the more I work my way down the path He has planned for me, the more I see of Him when I arrive at each step along the way. To see Christ in everyone, to BE Christ to everyone is not burdensome – it is a joy and a blessing beyond description.
I am surrounded in my life – by my family and my church family – by individuals who have heard God’s call – in whatever form that is manifested – and responded in obedience. It is inspirational to see others, often changing the course of their entire lives, to respond to God when He calls. They understand that sometimes that call comes early in life. Sometimes, later. What I now am beginning to understand and accept is that it comes in God’s time! When He feels we are adequately/appropriately prepared for the call. We don’t always agree with Him! But He knows.
My prayer for you today is that you will be open to God’s call upon your life. And that you rejoice in the intimate, intricate, powerful love your Father has for you.
Mary
