Fast-forward about a century to Tuesday evening, when I watched the last 15-20 minutes of "Rejection Must Fall," the third instalment in Louie Giglio's "Goliath Must Fall" series. I began it Sunday night but had to leave before I'd finished.
Oh, the timing of the Lord. Much of what He needed to say to me that day was contained in those last 15-20 minutes.
Louie spoke about the depth of God's love for us. We can't actually comprehend how deep His love is for us is, which surely explains why we spend so much time seeking fulfilment and recognition elsewhere.
I went to my room to speak with the Lord right after watching the video. I had a lot on my mind, but the echo effect of the message I'd just heard was that all I wanted to talk about was how thankful I am for His love, for Him -- and thankful that He gives me the great honor of loving Him in return. He sealed our time together with 1 Kings 5:4, where Solomon says
"But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor misfortune." |
The thought occurs to me: What would happen if I virtually bathed in the knowledge of His great love for me? ...If I paused every little while during the day just long enough to say, "THANK YOU, beautiful King and Savior, for loving me so much that You gave up everything to seek me as Your own." ...If, instead of being thrown off course by struggles and shortfalls and regrets, I turned my anxious obsessions into moments of openly spoken obsession with my God and His love for me. ...If, instead of diving into distraction and worry, I dived into every picture I could find in scripture of His glory, His grace, His might, and His loveliness, and spoke it all back to Him with praise.
Perfect love casts out all fear, and God has shown His perfect love in that while I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me. Doesn't it follow logically that I should try the above experiment, to rise up above myself and above my own fear -- to be radiant for Him?
This sounds like a plan.
Feel free to join me.