In the middle of thousands upon thousands still picking up from a hurricane, we were having our own “hurricane.” On top of the weather and the news, we had an unexpected death at an unexpected time, that threatened more loss. And in those lengthening moments, I read Dr.E.V. Hill’s words in GriefShare’s devotional book entitled, “Through a Season of Grief.” Dr. Hill said, “Get solidly in your mind who God is. He is not a smart man somewhere who finished from Yale or Harvard who is trying to figure out day-to-day problems for people ..... He is the eternal I AM. He is the eternal last word. And He is love.” My emotions pulsated, and my heart wept tears of gratitude. He is love.
Those were the words, and more importantly, the truth, I needed to be reminded of. Dr. Hill also said, “God is the answer to every question and every need.” In the hurricane. In the tragedy that invades your life. In the turmoil and discord that fragments relationships. In every need. Why does He meet us in every need??? Because He is love, and me, and all who are His children are foremost the recipients of that love. We have a Father-child relationship with Him, that loves and cares and gives. And yet, He longs to share that love with all of the peoples of the world. John 3:16 says it so clearly. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
God gives in response to our needs, because, God loves. And He loved us before we ever thought to love Him. We love Him in response to His love for us, but in creating us, He made us creatures who NEED to be loved. Again, why??? Because He wanted our need for love to draw us to HIM. We look all too frequently for others to love us in ways that fully satisfy, but people cannot love us perfectly. Only God can. And we sense the protective shield of His love, its encouragement, its provision, its satisfaction, when He wraps us in it in the midst of the questions and needs.
Somebody... please love me. That was once the cry of my own heart. Others spoke of a God who loved. But their words seemed so distant, so unapproachable, so very much for someone else. But it was God Himself who opened my closed heart. He drew the child who so desperately wanted love to Himself, and He said, “My child, you have looked in all the wrong places. You have asked family and friends to give what they cannot give. They can only love in part. They too long to be loved. My love is perfect. My love is complete. My love alone can fully satisfy your longing. Let Me love you.”
Yes, sometimes overwhelming need can seem to separate me from His love, but my God has not left me – or, you. He is there with us, even in the darkness, and His love will permeate the darkness and draw me to Himself.
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
and were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
and every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
though stretched from sky to sky.
– (Author, unknown)
– Bev
(Related Bible reading: Romans 8:31-39)
