The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 89:14-16,
Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
They rejoice in your name all day long;
they celebrate your righteousness."
Here again are the two chief aspects of God's character he wants us to know of: his justice and his love. In this passage we read of the Lord's righteousness and justice as well as his love and faithfulness. These are the qualities he revealed of himself when asked by Moses. Of himself he said, "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation." Exodus 34:6-7. Love and justice.
Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord makes clear to us what he wants us to know of him, "Let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight." Jeremiah 9:24. Again, love (kindness) and justice.
In that we are made in God's image and created to exist within his presence, these qualities of love and justice are things we ultimately long for. We all have a deep yearning in our hearts for love and we likewise have a deep yearning in our hearts for justice. I think we all recognize our desire for love, but when it comes to justice, we have just as great a desire. Even as little children we have often expressed, "That's not fair!". That cry for being treated fairly expresses how we long for that which is just, for that which is right. The politics for our day are rife with claims of what is "just" or "right" or 'fair" - not that what is being promoted is truly so, but sharp political minds have found what can be exploited within the hearts of folks for advantage. Although we may live in a fearful expectation of what our sins may bring us in God's court, we nevertheless yearn for what we were created for - a relationship with someone who is ultimately loving and just.
Since the fall of mankind in the garden, we have been separated and estranged from the very One that made us, the One who designed us to have fellowship and have close contact with him. This estrangement has brought a deep-seated longing for what we now miss, what we now yearn for. As we think of those things that are necessary for life: air, water, food, shelter, etc. there should be some recognition that life extends beyond our physical bodies. We have need for communication, we have need for affection, we have need for contact with others, etc. Deprived of these things, a child will not develop mentally, emotionally and spiritually. It is my feeling that what drives so many people in destructive directions is their deprivation from the love and faithfulness, the justice and righteousness that resides only within our Creator. In our estrangement with God we often feel a hopelessness, a despair, an emptiness, a feeling that nothing matters. It is within that context, I believe, many people's lives run off the tracks. Addictive, harmful, aberrational behaviors, harmful relationships, and much mental illness I would bet finds its origin in the fact that we were created for something that is now kept from us: access to our loving and just God. It is my thought that many of those who have lost themselves in alcohol, drugs, sexual addictions and perversions, suicidal tendencies and so forth, are the most desperate for that contact with our loving and just God.
Through God's reach to us, as he makes himself available to us through faith, across that great divide of sin and separation from him, Ethan, the author of Psalm 89 tells us, "Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long; they celebrate your righteousness." These are the blessed ones as they have made their way back to their Creator and found within him the deepest longings of their hearts.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
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