"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand." (John 10:28)
In my years working as a crisis counselor, it took me a long time to get used to ministering to folks in intense circumstances, only to send them on their way and never see or hear from them again. I wanted to know how their lives turned out, and in my own prideful heart, I wanted to know if my presence had made any difference. The majority of the time, I never found answers to those questions. Instead, I learned to turn their care over to God, who would minister to them more fully than I ever could. When my work was finished, I would simply envision these wounded souls enveloped in the strong, warm, comforting palm of God’s immense and loving hand. Knowing that He was in control of their healing and protection was what allowed me to sleep in peace, to let go and move on to the next person in need.
It’s easy for us to see the wisdom of turning to and relying on God on the mountain tops and in the deep valleys of our lives, but what about all the many other points along the slope of life? I don’t know about you, but I’ve been guilty of falling into the trap of believing that my joys and sorrows are not important or urgent enough to bring before a God who hears the anguished cries of so many of His children. How dare I come to God with concerns about work or relationship issues when there are people who have lost loved ones, homes, and their entire livelihoods to tornadoes? How can I voice a prayer about responsibly rearing my child, when folks on the other side of the world lose children daily to AIDS and starvation? I can’t count how many times I’ve prayed openly for others, only to stop short of praying to God about the struggles in my own life, silenced by a faulty feeling of selfishness.
Thought processes like this come from the erroneous practice of applying human terms to a divine God. He is everywhere at all times, a living, breathing part of each of His created children. There is more than "enough" of Him – more than we can fathom – to be fully and lovingly with each of us every moment of every day. We don’t have to put our joys and concerns on a divine waiting list, to be tended to after more pressing concerns are dealt with. In fact, God knows every song in our hearts, every pain carried in our bodies and souls, long before we ever form the words to express them. The only delay occurs when we hesitate to bring it all to Him. No matter what is happening in the world, no matter what time of day or night, God hears us. He hears us even if all we can do is fall to our knees in silence before Him.
If God’s presence is hard for we humans to understand, so too is His love for us. How could He love us so much that He sacrificed His Son for us? Such love may be difficult to comprehend, but it is very real. It is perfect and utterly complete. By hesitating to bring my "insignificant" joys and concerns to God, I forget that if it’s important to me, it’s important to God. To withhold myself from Him in any way is an affront to a love so fierce that it was nailed to a cross for me over two thousand years before I even drew my first breath. Why would He go to such dramatic lengths for me if He had no interest in a relationship with me?
In her revised study "Breaking Free," Beth Moore states, "No matter what time of night you roll over in the bed and become conscious, you will catch God in the middle of a thought about you." What a beautiful and woundrous image. But then... how could He not be thinking of one He loves so much?
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