The Outskirts

 

“Behold, these [creation] are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

—Job 26:14

If I were to take you to my hometown and leave you on the outskirts—say, a couple of miles from the center of town—you would see houses far apart, large, meticulously groomed lawns, barns and cows, a decorative windmill or two, and, in the summer, clothes blowing from lines stretched across backyards. Based on your observation of what I’ve described, what would you know about the town? You would rightly say that here you will enter a simple and proud farming community, perhaps of Dutch heritage.

If you came within a couple of miles of the city limits where I live now, you would see some abandoned factories, signs of boats and marine life, homes close together, and a thriving number of small shops and attractive plazas, doctor’s offices, traffic signals, and fire hydrants. Likely you would say you are about to enter a small city with a history of manufacturing, perhaps experiencing a renaissance of business and recreational life, with a location near a water port.

In general terms, the outskirts tell us what we will see if we more deeply examine the core. When we think of this in terms of Scripture, I like what Eugene Peterson says:¹

A well-furnished and generously blessed creation is but “the outskirts of his ways.”—the center is the love in which we respond to our Lord in reverent praise.

I see this in larger terms when I study Psalm 19. Here we observe, in the first six verses, how the creation “pours forth” its speech to the whole world, declaring the glory of God and the work of His hands. You might say that here we read about the outskirts of God’s person. We see His wisdom, creativity, power, and careful preparation for His living creatures.

When we read further, in verses seven through eleven, we begin to see the core of our God’s person, as He proclaims Himself to us in His written Word. Here, we see His perfection, His righteousness, His joy, His light, His endurance, and the introduction of His revelation to each of us personally.

Do the “outskirts” that we looked at in the first six verses lead us to think of someone different than we see in His revealed written Word? Not at all. These verses are like the “thunder” of His power after the “whisper” of His first approach to us.

Has God brought you to see the “outskirts” of His goodness? Keeping moving through His written Word until you begin to see the larger truths of who He is and hear the thunder of His powerful voice calling you to know Him better. Our God is faithful and delights to have us find Him through the wisdom and lovingkindness of His ways!

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1 Peterson, Eugene H. Praying with the Psalms. San Francisco, CA: Harper-Collins Publishing Company, 1993. Entry for December 26.

 

 

Daddy's Girl

 

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”

—1 John 3:1

I probably did not even know what calling someone “Daddy’s girl” meant. But, looking back, I can see that the moniker fit me. From spending time in the barn with my farmer dad, to riding the work horses, to gathering eggs from the hens, to riding through the woods collecting sap for maple syrup, and to the “tickle torture” on the couch, I knew my father loved having me around.

We see this kind of love from the father of a newborn baby.

He looks on with intense anticipation as his wife labors. He cries with joy as he gets the first look at the baby. He lovingly tends to the baby while mom is tended to by the nurses. He proudly carries the baby down the hallway to the waiting room and announces his or her arrival. He is proud. He is a father. This is the moment he gets to tell everyone the news. That child will never have to wonder who Dad is. The father lavishes love upon the child so that the child’s identity is bound up in the father’s love.¹

If someone looking at a child can say, “It is evident that her father loves her,” then certainly, when people see us and the blessing of God’s presence in our lives, they should be able to say the same thing about God’s relationship with us.

God’s written Word refers to us as the “apple of God’s eye” (Psalm 17:8). He, who planned for us long before He created the world, has provided for us a beautiful world in which to live. After we disappointed Him by disobediently putting up the sinful barrier between us, He made a way to sacrifice His Son to bring us back into fellowship.

[1 John 3:1] reminds us that God not only calls us his children; he makes us his children. He has done all the work of adoption and given us the gift of his divine family. Because of this truth, we can have all the assurance that God is faithful, true, sure, and full of love… Claim this promise today: you are a child of God!²

Let’s rejoice in God’s presence today and thank Him that He has created us and blessed us with such lavish love. And, let’s be glad that He delights in knowing us, really knowing us.

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1 LaGrone, Jessica; Andy Nixon; Rob Renfroe; Ed Robb. Under Wraps. Nashville, TN: Abington Press, 2014. Pp. 91, 92.

2 Ibid.

 

 

The Bow

 

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring the clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

—Genesis 9:12-16

Noah and his family must have felt terrified once they left the ark and, for the first time, saw storm clouds begin to form in the sky. In their experience, clouds meant devastation, loss, and probably provoked in them intense fear.

God had seen what His clouds had brought upon the earth. He had spared just this one family of godly people and a select number of animals. He wanted His creation to know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that, above all, He is faithful and interested in having an everlasting relationship with mankind, not in causing their destruction.

God created something new after the flood. Never before had mankind seen such a spectacular sight in the heavens as the rainbow. This massive curve of refracted light meant promise, protection, and covenant between God and His creation. What an assurance this sign must have been to Noah and his family. As they gazed at the rainbow, they had a visible sign that God had spoken and He would keep His word.

Why the symbol of the bow? We can only speculate on God’s reasonings because we cannot know the true depth of His great wisdom and love that oversee all that He does. But, we can speculate a bit, in light of our knowledge of Him. Charles Spurgeon comments in this way:¹

The rainbow is thus made the lovely symbol of God’s truth. A bow unstrung, for war is over; a bow without a string never to be used against us; a bow turned upward, that we may direct our thoughts and prayers thither; a bow of bright colors, for joy and peace are signified by it. Blessed arch of beauty, be thou to us ever the Lord’s preacher.

When clouds form over our lives, we must remember the rainbow. It never appears without the clouds. And, just when we need to know that God sees and remembers us, He will show us a sign of His love and faithfulness.

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1 Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, Spurgeon’s Devotional Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, reprinted 1982, Public Domain. p. 16.

 

 

Stability

 

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.”

—Psalm 90:1-2

I can think of no better way to begin a new year and a new decade than with the words of Psalm 90. This Psalm is a prayer of Moses, as he saw the wanderings, the weaknesses, and the uncertainty of the pathway ahead in the wilderness of Sinai. We can rest and rejoice in the foundation of our God, His eternality, and His ability to keep His people in the protection of His divine Presence.

In this prayer, Moses admits the frailty of humans and their need of God’s love in their fleeting lifetimes. The verbs drive the prayer along.

In Psalm 90:5, Moses cries, “Teach us.” In verse 13, he begs for God’s compassion. In verse 14, he asks that God satisfy us with Himself. In verse 15, He prays for God to make the people glad in light of all they have suffered. In verse 17, He pleads for God’s favor to rest on His people and finally that God would establish the work of their hands.

What a wonderful prayer on which to meditate as we begin another year. How can we but know success in following our God when we humbly ask for those same things that Moses asked for in his prayer?

My beautiful sister painted Psalm 90:1 on the wall over our front door to remind anyone who entered that brick and mortar won’t last. And, that our homes, like Moses’ dwelling places, serve as fleeting places of rest. Only God’s everlasting care will keep us—not only through this decade, but through all generations. What a powerful thought!

After the heart of Moses, A. W. Tozer prayed these words.¹ Perhaps, following Tozer’s example, you can write your own prayer based on Moses’ words:

O Christ, our Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. As conies to their rock, so have we run to Thee for safety; as birds from their wanderings, so have we flown to Thee for peace. Chance and change are busy in our little world of nature and men, but in Thee we find no variableness nor shadow of turning. We rest in Thee without fear or doubt and face our tomorrows without anxiety. Amen.

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1 Tozer, Aiden Wilson. The Knowledge of the Holy. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1961. p. 49.