He Is

Our team time last night consisted of a big group prayer. We prayed for Thailand, for the death of their king and the grieving of the nation; for the building tension between Russia and the United States that appears to threaten war; for the people of Haiti and anywhere else hurricane Matthew struck and tore apart; and for the success of Outpour movement and any other missionaries working around the world.

It reminded me — and everyone else, I think — of the amount of pain and hardship around the world. Struggling is pervasive and inescapable. Just as that prayer time reminded me of what is wrong with the world, so too did it throw into acute definition how much is right with God.

Where there is death and grief, God is joy and living hope.
Where there is tension, He is peace and love.
Where suffering and destruction abound, He is renewal and healing.

Idols crumble. Men die. Everything in this world, even abstract concepts, can wither and vanish. God, on the other hand, never changes and never fails.

“Your ways, O God, are holy. What God is so great as our God?” Psalm 77:15

“The Lord is righteous; he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.” Psalm 129:4

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope… Put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with Him is full redemption. He Himself will redeem [you] from all [your] sins.” Psalm 130:5 & 7-8

Those who ache need Jesus. Whether they are disenfranchised refugees or wealthy people seeking fulfillment their riches cannot give, those who hurt need God. He alone can give them true healing, peace, reconciliation, stability.

“Redeemer” means so much more than even wiping away all of our sin, as if that was not already so astonishing. Jesus also allows us to redeem the value of our lives. He is the ticket you give to the prize stand at Chuck E Cheese; He is the gift card you give at the store. He is the one who lets us acquire the best from this life just as much as He allows us to be with the God in eternity.

I long for the world to know His presence, how wonderful He is. Even more than that, I want to be grateful always that I already know. That He has been by my side in every moment and that, at least for the past half-decade or so, I have been aware that He is there. The Creator of the Universe has my back — how awesome is that?!

Praise God for who He is!

The great I Am; the God who is I Am ___; the God of fill in the blank. The God who can be anything and everything we need Him to be and, even better, who will be those things for us when we call upon His name. He is everything the world is not, and He is everything we lack. I am just so happy and grateful that He is.

How blessed are we to worship a God who is.

He is He is He is

“I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.” Psalms 145:1-2

On this Sunday morning (for those of you back in the United States, that is), I want to challenge you to spend some time today reflecting on who God is. Reflect on what the Bible says about who He is, and also reflect on who He is for you personally. Then, when you have figured all that out, rejoice in it. Rejoice in all that God is and all that He can be. Then go share it.

Cross-posted from my personal blog.