God's Heart

The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him. Nahum 1:7

I do not like confrontation and I certainly do not want to be the recipient of someone else's wrath. Micah 1:1-6 gives a vivid picture of God's anger toward His enemies. It is not a pretty picture but so necessary to get a full view of God's heart. It uses words like angry, jealous, revenge, vengeance, and wrath. In His presence, mountains quake, hills melt, and the earth burns. Jonathan Edwards captured an accurate picture of this aspect of God in his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."

If this were the only picture of God in Scripture, we would live hopeless and helpless. Meeting with God daily would look more like the scene from the "Wizard of Oz" when Dorothy and her friends first went before the wizard. Our souls would shake and our hearts would melt.
But as God's child, I revel in today's verse that speaks of God's goodness, protection, and knowledge. What assurance is mine as I am reminded that God is good and He is my place of security in the storms of my life! And yet the personal touch to all of this is that "He knows the ones who trust in Him."

I have some incredible people in my life. Some I never thought I would get to know on a personal level. As we have shared the stories of our life with each other the friendship has developed into a precious bond. To think that at one time they did not even know I existed but now we know each other intimately. Our "I love you" statements are not general statements any more. They are proclamations from our hearts.

To think that the God of the universe knows me better than anyone else and desires that I know Him as well is astounding. He is aware of my strengths and weaknesses, my thoughts as well as my actions, my sterling moments as well as my depravity.

I tend to realize a friend's love for me, not during my shining moments so much as by the moments when I have blown it. Security comes when seeing my bad side does not cause them to back away from me and reject me.

Father, You loved me even before You began to change me. That is a comforting thought. I don't think I will ever get use to it. You astound me with Your radical love. I rest in that today! Amen.