“The writer of Hebrews has told us that those who come to God must believe that He is [there], but that isn’t enough. We also have to believe that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him—that pursuing Him makes a difference in how He responds to us. If we simply believe God is there, watching, or that we have to twist His arm to notice us or bless us, then we aren’t perceiving Him well. According to His own Word, He longs to bless us, to have compassion on us, to answer our prayers, and to enter into a deep relationship with us.”— Chris Tiegreen
26 September 2020
No less faithful when the night leads me astray
Of all of the attributes of the Lord, one of the most mysterious to me is His tenderness with us — His completely unnecessary, deeply personal and undeniably affectionate posture in response to our shortcomings as His children.
“The One who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns darkness into dawn and darkens day into night, who summons the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the earth — Yahweh is His name.”
– Amos 5:8
A statement in the form “you ought to do X,” “it is right to do X,” or “X is good” will establish oughtness, rightness, or goodness only if there is a set of rules that gives the speaker the power totally to determine the question. But it is precisely the question of who has the power to set such rules for validating evaluations that is the central problem of ethics and of legal theory. There is no one who can be said a priori to have that power unless the question being posed is also being begged.
Except, as noted, God. It necessarily follows that the pronouncements of an omniscient, omnipotent, and infinitely good being are always true and effectual. When God says, “Let there be light,” there is light. And when He sees that it is good, good is what it is.
“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”
O how fast would You come running
If just to shadow me through the night
Trace my steps through all my failure
And walk me out the other side
“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”
– Psalm 139:16
“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.”
– Psalm 143:8
God knows that the most he will get from us will be a “mustard seed” of faith, and God is satisfied. We do most things in life primarily for ourselves and struggle for self-preservation in this world. But as soon as we have the humility to concede this, the grace and love of God can become powerful. One can build only on the truth.