I find when I run that I sometimes hear from God more clearly.
As I ran today I was reminded of God’s amazing nature. I was running down this hill and saw an old sculpted lion sitting atop an entryway and began a conversation with God. “God, I am so thankful You are a lion. And I am glad You are a lamb.”
This took me down a familiar road of thinking of all of God’s pardoxes – His remarkable dualisms. Think about it. God is a consuming fire and living water. God is a King and a father. God is infinitely just while being infinitely merciful. God does not change, yet He changed His mind. God is a father and a son. God is Lady Wisdom and a mighty warrior. God is a husband and, as Jesus, never married.
And then God said this to me.
I love you. I love you so much that I am everything you need. Whatever you most need is what I will be for you. When you need a lion, whether to defend you or to scare you, I will be there. When you need a father to discipline you or to sing you songs of love, I will be there. Whatever you most need I will be. There is nothing I will not do to show you the fullness of my love.
It reminded me of the excellent story told by William Paul Young in the Shack. He weaves a fictional account – an allegory – that gives an excellent word picture of how much God loves each one of us. In one part of the story the main character and Jesus are talking and Jesus is asked whether “all roads lead to” Jesus. I love Jesus’ response: “Not at all . . . Most roads don’t lead anywhere. What it does mean is that I will travel any road to find you.” Young, The Shack, p. 182 (emphasis added).
While the Shack may be reviled by some (see the comments to the linked blogpost), I think it depicts God and His love for us well. If you haven’t read it, you owe it to yourself to do so.
Ask God about His love for you. Ask Him what you mean to Him. Let the truth of the Cross wash over you.
God is crazy about you. And God will be what You need most, when you need it most, whatever it is. He’s big enough and loving enough to do it. Just remember that we often may think we need something when we have no clue what we need – He, however, the One who created us, knows exactly what we need and He offers it freely to the one who will believe and receive.
