It is true that God's love is magnificent, yes. But it is also true that our capacity for the same sort of love is not magnificent. We are frail creatures, we people. We are made from dirt and breath, earth and wind, flesh and spirit.
He out-loves us, yes, but only because He can. He reaches in, deeply in, and tears bone from our body, makes something new through our pain. He breathes heavy on us, sometimes a furious wind, toppling us over, sometimes a breeze, soothing and comforting. But he always creates. He always plans.
And this I take comfort in today.
He plans.
He creates.
There is nothing in me that He did not know about in advance. There is nothing in me that surprises him. There is no part of this wretched flesh that He did not craft to perfectly reflect Him. There is no part of my intricate spirit that He did not fit to communicate Him. There is nothing in me that He is ashamed of and no part of me at which He shakes His head, afraid I will never get it.
He plans and creates and is not surprised by me.
There is nothing about me that is unlovable to Him. He is not afraid that I will never learn the extent of His love. He knows there is all the time in the world because He has numbered my days and my eternity, that too.
There is nothing that He has not provided for me and the things He has not provided are not because He does not see my need, but because He is acutely aware of my need for Him alone.
He provides and loves.
It is true that He is careful in His watching over of me, but it is also true that He is delighted when I am content to watch Him. He is not bored by me and He is most delighted in me when I am not bored by Him. He is creative in his lessons, crafting them for my good and His glory. He is unending in His methods, never finished with my education.
He is a gentle and kind friend, a protective and wise father, a just and merciful teacher, a loving and forgiving savior.
He is.
He surpasses.
He extends.
He encompasses.
This frees me to trust. Fully. Expectantly. Happily. Freely.
for those who are in Christ Jesus."
Romans 8.1