Invisible Attributes
The two of us are adventurers, sometimes foolhardy but always delighted by the challenge of accomplishment and the lure of the unknown. We went camping last week. Seven days and nights in a tent at our favorite mountain campsite, during which time we experienced the thrill of victory (setting up camp) and the agony of defeat (taking two days to get over it). Well, when you’re in your sixties, nothing is as easy as it used to be.
Still, the beauty and majesty of Nature revealing the invisible attributes of the Creator were breathtaking, and we spent most of the days in quiet contemplation, meditation and prayer (Romans 1:20). Moss covered tree trunks and rocks, clouds settling in the valley, sunlight dancing on new leaves and wildflowers, and wildlife frittering to and froe. It was as though God threw open the doors and said, “Welcome. Please make yourself at home.”
And the icing on the cake: we were graced with the presence of dear friends who stayed just across the way in a camper. Fellowship was sweet, laughter was refreshing, and the food shared around an open fire was satisfying. Truly, it was a rich and precious time, made all the more special to us because there were things to overcome.
And isn’t that the way of the Lord with us? Trials, tribulations and afflictions are useful to Him as He pursues our hearts. In the deepest night, He draws near, and when He has brought us out into the light, our joy is boundless. How bright and warm is the sun, when we have experienced the dark and cold night. How much more clearly does redemption shine after the brooding chaos of unrighteousness.
“In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me. This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation—” (Psalm 18:6, 16, 19, 30, 46 ESV)
Dear one, are you in a tough spot, a tight place? Rest assured; He is after your heart. There is nothing sweeter than His presence in the midst of the trial. “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.'” (Isaiah 43:1-2 ESV)
Until next week, beloved, call out to God, embrace the adventures, and see Him magnified in you.