A.W. Tozer makes this significant and profound claim …. “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

That’s a powerful statement worth meditating upon.  If you’re like me there’s a natural tendency to think about God and then approach him focusing on my problems, pains, and disappointments.  It’s not that he doesn’t want to respond in our time of need.  He does.  However, we’re challenged in scripture, over and over again to approach God on the basis of who he is and all that he has done in our lives.  It is imperative to have a RIGHT view and a HIGH view of God.

Here are a couple of questions to ponder:

Do I view God in light of my circumstances or in view of His Character?
Do I approach God with praise and gratitude for the many benefits that he has bestowed upon me?

Psalm 103 is a hymn of Thanksgiving written about the all loving God and points out the “many benefits” that God has bestowed upon us:

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-

3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6 The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:

8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.

9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;

10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

14 for he knows

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We’re forever grateful that we KNOW and SERVE the only true God who can sympathize with our pain and suffering …. although I am not sure that we fully appreciate the amount of excruciating pain that God himself endured, allowing Himself to be brutally executed on a tree for the sins of the world.

Most of us know from firsthand experience that a toothache can be very agonizing …. but in the big picture, it’s nothing compared to true pain and suffering, especially when compared to what Irene has endured with Amyloid.  She did, however, have a dentist appointment today for a troubling molar.  Thankfully they were able to solve the matter rather quickly so that after several days of discomfort, she’s now free of further grief.

Irene rested most of the afternoon and has tussled with lethargy and nausea for the last couple of days.  She continues to endure the drawn out, 24/7, uncomfortable feeling.  She remains undaunted, however, in her toil to appropriate the abundant and victorious life that she knows is hers by faith.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles ….”
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

We trust in Him; thanks for caring.

Caminando con Fé
Dave

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