“The Bible isn’t about you. The Bible is about God… searching for you.”
As my pastor’s words filled the church, my soul was simultaneously filled. Filled with love for a God who knew I would stray. And filled with gratitude that there is no where I can go that He can’t find me.
I’m just returning home from a whirlwind trip to Fargo. My husband and I lived there for ten years. It’s been three years since I’ve been back, but thanks to some speaking invitations, I got to spend an entire week hugging old friends and making new ones.
My schedule was what one person described as “aggressive.” I had 8 speaking events, 2 radio interviews, 1 television morning show and 2 book signings in 7 days.
Yeah. I have a hard time knowing when to say when.
I have to admit, I was a little worried that I would be so caught up in prepping for the “stage” events that I would miss the small, intimate, important conversations that God had aligned along the way.
So, months before boarding an airplane, I started praying. I prayed that God would speak through me at each event, but that He would also help me to see every person who crossed my path as He sees them. I wanted ears to hear them and eyes to see them, even if they were in the back row of the sanctuary or behind the counter of the coffee shop.
I should have known He wouldn’t let me miss them.
I asked for God’s ears and God’s eyes, but the most shocking part of the week, the part that still leaves me a little breathless, is that God also gave me His heart for them.
For the woman with Alzheimers who asked how she could be kind when she couldn’t even leave her own home…
For the 17 year old girl going to school and taking care of her 2 year old son…
For the woman who came to see me speak on her anniversary, with her daughter instead of her husband, because the love of her life is now gone…
Every pair of eyes I looked into seemed to long for the same reminder. And so through my words and my eyes and my prayers I tried to give God the space to breathe into them.
God loves you. He thinks you are precious. He sees what you are going through and He hasn’t (not for even one second) turned away from you.
This week’s memory verse is important. So important. Because in the midst of our pain, we can have hope if we can only remember this:
“May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.” Ephesians 3:18 (NLT)
Friends, His love is wide. Wide enough to wrap His arms all the way around you and protect you from what you fear.
His love is long. No matter how far away you are from Him— even if you question His existence, He can reach you.
His love is high. It’s higher than the mountain of problems standing in front of you. When your problems stack up high, remember His love is higher.
His love is deep. Have you been to hell and back? Maybe you feel like you’re still stuck there. Or maybe you feel like because of something you’ve done, that’s where you belong. God will go to the deepest darkest depths to rescue you.
My pastor’s words reverberate in my mind and in my heart. No, the Bible isn’t about us. It’s better than that. It’s about God searching for us because of the width, length, height and depth of His love.
