Devotional Thoughts for the Week of January 19, 2025 - More Than Amazing

“The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - whom should I dread? . . . I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking Him in His temple . . . Lord, hear my voice when I call; be gracious to me and answer me. My heart says this about you: ‘Seek His face.’ Lord, I will seek Your face. . .I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:1,4,7-8, 13).
    I have been trying for several weeks to put into words my growing amazement at who God is. When I think about the best attributes I could possibly hope for in a supreme being, this God far exceeds them all. Here are just a few of the things I am marveling at in 2025:

• He is the source of all goodness. The only reason there is anything good in the world is because of Him. He is the only reason there is a world at all, in fact.
  
• This God is personally, intimately, continually involved in the individual lives of millions, even billions of people all at once.
  
• His grace is far greater than we could dare to hope. No matter how far we have fallen away, He always wants us to come back to Him. How in the world could He be willing, even eager, to forgive so much?
  
• This God is rock solid, unchanging, unwavering. He cannot be beaten or even threatened by all the evil forces in the world. He is literally all-powerful and He uses that power for us. He will set all wrongs to right.
  
• This amazing God hears my prayers right when I pray them. He takes into account 2,000 details I cannot see or know, and weaves into my story a better answer than I could know to request.
  
• He is equally accessible to rich and poor, old and young, men and women, healthy and sick people of every nation in every generation.
  
• Although as Creator, He could have just given us a list of rules to follow. Instead, He offers us the most soul-satisfying relationship a human can ever know. How can He be so unimaginably good to us?
  
• His heart longs for me. He calls, He woos, He pursues me. He captivates my heart. He gifts me with a longing for His presence, bringing my desire into alignment with His own. What kind of love is this?
  
• His pursuit and call are specific and unique, different for every individual.
  
• He takes the mess I have made and transforms my life into something that delights Him and delights me.
  
• He has given us His Word so that we may know Him
  
• He has given us His Son so that we may know Him
  
• He has given us His Spirit so that we may know Him
  
• He is always giving me greater capacity to know Him. Each new revelation teaches me to love Him more.
  
• Just as He promised, He is always with me. Every moment He is with me.
  
• He transforms me from who I was into who I long to be.
  
• Even though following Him is costly, He fills up the heart and soul with the incomparable riches of His presence.
  
• If all that were not enough, He has promised me a perfect eternity in His presence filled with endless delight.
  

Who could ever have imagined such love? Who could ever have imagined such a God? Words cannot adequately express, nor can a human mind/heart fully comprehend the priceless treasure that God has given us in Himself. He is so much more amazing than we could have ever hoped or dreamed or asked or imagined . . . and He has set His sights on you! To know Him is the greatest possible joy available to any human being. Do you know Him?
The lyrics of this song released in 1983 by Larnelle Harris and Sandi Patty have been echoing in my mind. They express the wonder and worship within my soul.
For He's more wonderful than my mind can conceive
He's more wonderful than my heart can believe
He goes beyond my highest hopes and fondest dreams
He's everything that my soul ever longed for
Everything He's promised and so much more
More than amazing, more than marvelous
More than miraculous could ever be
He's more than wonderful, that's what Jesus is to me
I pray that each one of us will be ever learning to know and delight in this God who is too wonderful for words.