What is "Power Meets Intimacy"?

This concept- the power of God highlighting the intimacy of God- is a thread that has been running through my mind and heart for several years now. At a time in my life when I was crying out to God for healing from a broken relationship, I discovered something beautiful. It came to me through the Word, and was illustrated in amazing ways by creation. God is enormously powerful and huge beyond my imagination AND He wants to have an intimate, personal, day-to-day, moment-by-moment, nitty-gritty relationship with ME. At first these truths seem like they couldn't possibly reconcile, but as you search the Scriptures and realize they DO, your heart can hardly help leaping in amazement and joy. How great is the love that God has poured into our hearts by His Spirit. As a bit of a further introduction to the new focus of this blog, I will copy my very first musings on this subject, from several years ago. I hope it touches your heart and reminds you that God is more than just a powerful force. He is interested. Involved. Intimately- with YOU. Will you join me on a journey to dig deeper into the heart of God?

Power Meets Intimacy

“Nature is too thin a screen; the glory of the omnipresent God bursts through everywhere.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

          The glories of nature all around us speak clearly of the character of God, if we will only take the time to stop and ponder.  What is each facet of creation meant to teach us about our Heavenly Father?

            For example, what do you see when you look at a sunset? Its colors tell us of God’s unrivaled beauty, and the fact that we see a different one each evening clues us in to His unmatched creativity. He is a master Artist, painting not only sunrises and sunsets, but new hours and moments into our lives everyday. The roar of a waterfall brings to mind His power and greatness, yet the minuteness of the droplets reminds us that He is intimately involved with us despite His hugeness. The same message is repeated in a towering mountain covered in tiny, intricate snowflakes or a massive ocean filled with microscopic living organisms. In the sights and sounds of our world- and beyond- we are accosted by at least two messages at once: 1) God is POWERFUL!! and 2) God is INTIMATE!! This theme, which seems at first to contradict itself, is represented over and over again in Scripture. He is referred to as “God Most High,” then in the same breath is praised for involving Himself in our daily dilemmas!

            “I will cry to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me.”- Psalm 57:2

             “Once God has spoken, twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God; and lovingkindness is Yours, O Lord…” - Psalm 62:11-12.

          When I see the amazing display of creativity and care in nature I am excited, humbled, and eager to see how God will put His genius to work in my own life. How will He artfully craft my love story? What new lessons will He paint into my life this year in colors I have never seen? I have reason to trust that He who spun the constellations can repair my broken heart. That He whose power holds back the tide has control over my comings and goings. That He who mapped out the rivers of the world has charted out each day of my life and each instance where it intersects with another.

            When this kind of power meets this kind of intimacy, one emotion is immediately recognized: LOVE. A beautiful, all-encompassing, powerful, interested love. God does not only create, He sustains. He faithfully upholds all of creation. The sun keeps on rising and setting. The tide washes in and out. The birds fly and do not fall to the ground. The rain falls to water the earth. The heart beats…again and again. The giant fingers of God spun the galaxies and set the planets in orbit. The tender faithfulness of our Father holds them there, causing the stars to twinkle and shine, night after night.

            When God’s Son, Jesus, humbly descended to this earth- His own creation- this “power-meets-intimacy” concept was fully realized. This God-Man came to our dirty dwelling to work in the details of carpentry. To make friends with 12 ignorant men. And to reconcile each one of us to Himself. To allow us to experience His unbounded power in our own hearts. And to show us in the flesh what it means to be loved intimately by the all-powerful Creator-King.

            What right have we, as the creation, to expect this kind of love from our Maker? Let us respond with open arms, trusting in the wisdom of the Master Artisan and drinking in the unexpected, uninhibited love of our God.

Beauty In Out of the Way Places

I am so ready for spring. It comes slow here in the Inland Northwest, and I have been eagerly awaiting the first bloom I can spy in my yard. My daffodils and tulips are still only half-grown stalks and my anniversary rosebush is a mass of dry, twig looking stems with only a faint brush of green to prove there is any life inside. My little planter area I cultivated last summer has been extremely barren, due mostly to the fact that I planted almost all annuals. Ever since my sweet hubby gifted me with a potential rosebush (a mass of stems in a hunk of dirt!) early last summer, I have eagerly anticipated the day when I will enjoy a big, healthy, climbing shrub bearing lush, extravagant roses! So, as soon as the snow melted enough to where I could see the plant again, I began checking for signs that my rose had survived the harsh winter. Sure enough, green began to spread through the little stalks, but slowly. Almost everyday when I walk up the steps to the porch, I glance at the bush, and not much seems to change. Brown deadness seems to keep my rose's growth stagnated, and I have been disappointed.

However, this morning, as I traipsed down the driveway to Bible study, something purple caught my eye. About 3 feet to the right of my rosebush, tucked away in a corner amidst a tangle of last year's lifeless plants, was a single, delicate pansy. While I had been obsessed with my rosebush, and longing for it's showy blooms to materialize, this little, unpretentious pansy had come to life and blossomed without any fanfare. I was so moved and throughout Bible study, God's gift of this little flower tugged at my heart. It was as if the Lord dropped this thought into my mind: "Sometimes I work quietly and beautifully in out of the way places, where you aren't even looking."

WOW! My eyes welled up with tears as I realized how I often I long for God to work in "showy", extravagant ways, when many times just as important (or more) are the things He is doing where we least expect it. Isn't it just like God to do that? How refreshed and encouraged my spirit was when I thought of how often God brings beauty out of the least likely people and circumstances, and how often I neglect to see where He is working, as I become distracted with the things I want to happen! The roses I want to bloom!

Father, please draw my eyes continually to where Your "pansies" are sprouting in the least likely places in my world!

Hope You Don't Mind...

I have recently started using the internet radio Pandora (I know, I'm a little behind the times...). Last night, I felt in the mood for something different than my usual contemporary Christian fare, so I plugged in Chicago, and created a radio station chock full of great oldies from the 70s and 80s. Over dinner, talking to my hubby, waves of nostalgia rolled over me- not because I was a teen growing up in that time period, but because of my dad. Because of my dad, I did indeed grow up on bands like Chicago, The Beatles, America, The Eagles, Boston, Queen, REO Speedwagon, The Turtles, Bread, etc. My husband listened in amazement as song after song came on and I knew most of the words to almost every one. So I began to talk about my dad. How when I was young, growing up in Double Adobe, AZ and Redland, OR, there weren't any good Christian music stations- this was back in the 90s you know! :) So, when I would go places with Daddy, he'd crank up the oldies. The best of the 60s, 70s and 80s, the announcer would say. And as the tunes would float across the airwaves, Daddy would talk about his teen years, and how he was a sort of music junkie, discovering little known bands & one-hit-wonders, how he collected thousands of records and knew all about the bands that made them. Amazing how much I retained, for it wasn't the music or the bands that really interested me. I loved to hear Daddy talk about life when he was a kid. And I loved the time he spent telling me about it.

My dad became a pastor when I was 3 years old, and ever since I can remember, he's been talking us kids on calls with him. Now I go on calls with my own pastor husband and remember the days going with Daddy. Very rarely did Daddy go on a call to an elderly or sick person's home without taking one of us seven kids. When we lived in AZ, the trips to the hospital were at least 45 min, but usually more like 2 or 4 hrs- one way. That's a lot of time. In OR the hospitals were closer, but we still coveted the trips with Daddy. I remember many arguments happening over who got to "go with Daddy to see so-and-s0"! It wasn't just because most of the elderly widows would bring out milk and cookies for us. It was the time with Daddy. He made us feel important. He used to tell us that it made the older people and the sick people happy just to see a child's face. And he would often let us pray with them, knowing that the innocence of a child's prayers can touch a hurting heart or a weary soul like nothing else. And when we were in the car, there were always conversations. About music, of course, but also about life. About the importance of learning to listen to people. Taking an interest in what they're interested in. Look around, he'd say, look at the pictures on the walls, or the knick-knacks and ask people questions about their lives. Learn to remember the names of their kids and their grandkids. He was (is) such a good teacher of how to unselfishly minister to people. And on the way home there was always the inevitable stop for a treat, for being so good and for just being with Daddy. A soda and a bad of chips, or a donut and a bottle of juice. A candy bar.

But now as I look back, it isn't the treats I remember so well. The thing that has left such a lasting impression on me (besides the great old tunes!) is the time I spent with my Daddy. Knowing that my company was valuable to him, knowing that he enjoyed spending those hours with me. Now, married, living away from home, I treasure every moment I spent with my Daddy. And Daddy, as Elton John would say, I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind, that I put down in words, how wonderful life was...when I got to spend time with you! :)