I am persuaded that I am loved by the I AM…

I awoke this morning with a deep hunger in my soul to know Jesus more, to snuggle in as close to God as is humanly possible, To feel Him and touch Him and hear His voice. There was a cry emanating from the depths of my soul.  It was a thirst and a longing for His presence, one that can only be satisfied by a dip in the pool of His word.  I found myself in the book of Romans, drinking deeply of the truth about my birth, about my relationship to my Heavenly Father, and about the level of trust that I can have in Him, whether through His Holy Spirit on this earth or His manifest presence and glory in the eternal. 

 

Rom 8:28-31

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

This scripture says to me that God knew me before I was birthed in my mothers’ womb.  That He had knowledge of me before I was born.  And that He determined in advance of my birth that I would be His daughter.  That He would raise me up to be conformed into the image of His firstborn Son.  He placed deep within my heart a calling that awaits an answer back to Himself.  It is a sacred invitation, yeah, more than an invitation; it is a bidding of love.  In the stillness of the moment when my surrendered heart whispers “yes” to His call, I am washed free of sin, immersed and baptized in the Spirit that renders me forever Holy in His presence and precious in His sight.  I am made a partaker and partner in His glory as I travel the path that He has mapped out for my life.  Henceforth, whatever terrain this path travels through, whether it see me singing, skipping, dancing, and chasing butterflies or whether I find myself bent over in mourning, kneeled down in seeking, or face down in sorrow, I am never alone, nor am I ever without the resources that I need to access the strength of my Father as I travel through any part of this journey that I must travel.  He is faithful even to carry me through the most difficult places.  I need only to lift my arms to him, as a child lifts his arms in a gesture signaling the desire to be lifted and held close, So will my Father lift, hold, and carry me.

 

Rom 8:37-39

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

He is my healer, my comforter, my Father, my friend, the lover of my soul.  He knows me, He has called me, he has freed me from the laws of sin and death, and he walks with me and allows me to show forth His glory as I travel.  What an amazing God I serve.  My God, truly How Great Thou Art.

 

Kelly Finke – 2012