God’s Unfailing Love is Only One Step Away
There are two ways to buy a new car. One way, that most of us use, is to look around the lots of many car dealers. We may begin our search with a certain vehicle in mind, but we’ve got to be realistic. As we head out to the Ford, Chevy, or Honda dealers, we check the lot to see what’s available and what’s within our budget.
We might hope for a certain color, a certain engine size, and certain accessories. But, in the end, we’ll have to settle for what we can afford.
Maybe we hoped for a beautiful, silver BMW with a big engine and lots of frills. But we will most likely come away with a plain white, Toyota Echo with a tiny 4-cylinder motor. It’s not what we wanted, but – it’s new!
The other way of buying a car is far different. Money is no
object. The buyer doesn’t go to the lot at all. He knows exactly what he wants and he’s willing to pay for it and to wait for it. So he orders precisely what he wants: a certain color, make, model, with a certain engine size, and specific accessories.
And on the day he picks it up from the dealer it’s exactly what he ordered. It’s the very car he envisioned. It reflects his personality. It is the car of his dreams.
You know, most of us view ourselves as one of those “plain-Jane,” “box with four wheels” – the leftover car that nobody else wanted. We conclude that we’re a disappointment to God – nothing of what He hoped for, but only what was left on the lot.
Yet little do we ever comprehend that we are, in truth, the very high-speed model that is made to God the Father’s exact specifications. The God who has loved us from all eternity has made us “to order,” with just the right skin color, just the right hair color, just the right eye color, just the right gender, just the right size, just the right build, just the right personality, with just the right gifts, talents and abilities.
There are no mistakes. There are no disappointments or surprises with God. Who cares if others do not like us? Who cares if the rest of the world does not value us? We were made by God and for God. And if He’s pleased with us, it doesn’t matter if the rest of the world rejects us.
You are exactly what God your heavenly Father ordered. And only when you realize this and experience his unconditional acceptance, realize He delights in you, and rest in his loving arms will you ever find healing for your wounded soul.
In the Psalms David wrote, “I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works, my soul knows this very well.” (Psalm 139:14)
There, you have it from God’s own word – “You are wonderful.” God said it and He does not lie.
PRAYER: Dear Father in heaven, I praise You as my Creator and as the lover of my soul. Thank You for making me who I am. Please continue Your work of renewal and renovation in my life that I may become all You created me to be. Amen.
(Written by Chaplain (LTC) David Causey while Based at Camp Henry, serving as the Expeditionary Sustainment Command Chaplain.)
Blessings from Above, Ch Robert Kinnune