I can boast in the God who takes the first step… I can boast in the wonder of God because He took the first step toward me.
“And Isaiah boldly says, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.” - Romans 10:20
Sometimes we wonder in relationships who took the first step. Was it me, or was it the other person? I boast in God as His Word tells me that He actually takes massive first steps in creating relationship. To make it personal, He actually took the first step toward revealing Himself to me. In the Isaiah passage God states that He allowed Himself to be found by those who were not even looking for Him. He revealed Himself, or as it says more fully in Hebrew, God allowed Himself to be found by those who did not even ask for the benefit.
Sometimes trauma in life can be a catalyst for seeking meaning or answers for existence. Sometimes in that quest God seems to just show up in one way or another as the key to it all. So many people have told me stories of how God first started to reveal His presence to them.
This solitary planet called earth rotates in space every 24 hours at an enormous speed. This happens while we are rotating on a different axis in a yearly journey around the sun. And then the whole galaxy is moving through space, and all of this at the same time. In this, I pause to wonder if humans could every find God, apart from Him first showing Himself to us.
His Word tells us He has shown His glory through creation. We can also step back and realize He has “placed eternity in our hearts.” In a sense, we have this awareness that there is more to life than this physical, chemical existence.
But then Jesus states that He stands at the door of our lives and He knocks. Knocking makes noise. Knocking tells us something, or someone, is there and would like to greet us. Someone will respond if the door is opened. The person at the door knocks to initiate relationship or encounter.
Knocking on the outside of a door is clearly a first step toward us. And then Jesus reminds us that we really cannot come to Him unless the Father draws us. All of this tells us He enters our world first. He graciously takes the primary wonderful step towards us as humans. And this means you and me!
A friend of mine seeking sobriety suggested that God arrived first in His life, and in a sense, made Himself known. “It was as if He walked into my life, and just waved, saying “Hello.” I waved back and suddenly He was there in His fulness.”
I boast in a most wonderful God who entered my life in ways that would catch my attention. As I opened the door to my life, He came in. And life has never been the same since.
How did God make Himself real and known to you? Did He use another person? Maybe it was reading His Bible. Maybe it was a friend. Let’s thank Him and boast in His personal approach to our lives. |
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