Jun 12 2009
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Psalm 103 is the most remarkable Scripture passage. It says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits, Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion, Who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.” Doesn’t it just bless you to grasp such truth?
It goes on to say that He has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west, and like a compassionate father He loves us. He knows our limits and yet makes a way for us to live above them as we love and serve Him with all our hearts, souls and minds.
The next several chapters detail the ways God has responded to the needs of man. That He even cares about us at all is mind-blowing, since, as humans we are weak, frail, headstrong, arrogant and for the most part, unresponsive to His tender advances. And yet He seeks us, like a hound of heaven, relentless in His love, knowing that without Him we are forever lost.
He knows the way we take. He knows where we are, not just in time and space, but emotionally. Now multiply that times the number of people living on the earth, and try to fathom what that means. Add to that fact that He knows the number of hairs on each head and bottles every tear. Can you grasp the depth of His commitment to you and me?
He’s told us about His love in a million ways, demonstrated it for us in the world around us, intervened in the affairs of men countless times, in response to our prayers. So what’s not to like about God?
The truth is, He demands that we die to ourselves and live for Him in order to receive the blessing of relationship. And therein lies the rub. We hold onto our rights like a banner, waving them in front of His face, when He knows that choice will be the death of us. And yet He gave us that choice, that free will, from the very beginning, because He wants us to come to Him out of love, not obligation.
He has no use for puppets on a string, marionettes with no autonomy, but with autonomy comes risk.
What an awesome God we serve. If we plumb the depths of His love, we cannot help but be changed, built up, healed, blessed and even overwhelmed by His amazing grace to the children of men.
Let’s plumb those depths, and find out who He is, allowing Him to transform us, so that we can’t help but let Him use us to shine for Jesus.
Because of His great love,
Nancy
It’s hard letting go of those rights, isn’t it? I think I cling to mine like some kind of a safety blanket.
His love is so amazing. Wonderful post.