The Riches of His Love

I am in love with the lyrics to the following Hillsong song: Forever Reign

You are good, You are good
When there's nothing good in me
You are love, You are love
On display for all to see

You are light, You are light
When the darkness closes in
You are hope, You are hope
You have covered all my sin

You are peace, You are peace
When my fear is crippling
You are true, You are true
Even in my wandering

You are joy, You are joy
You're the reason that I sing
You are life, You are life
In You death has lost it's sting

Oh, I'm running to your arms, I'm running to your arms
The riches of Your love will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world, forever reign

You are more, You are more
Than my words will ever say
You are Lord, You are Lord
All creation will proclaim

You are here, You are here
In Your presence I'm made whole
You are God, You are God
Of all else I'm letting go

Oh, I'm running to Your arms, I'm running to Your arms
The riches of Your love will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world, forever reign
 
My heart will sing no other name
Jesus, Jesus
My heart will sing no other name
Jesus, Jesus
 
These lyrics have been running through my mind since last weekend.  There is no doubt about it, we indeed serve the Almighty God.  I am daily humbled by my humanity and enthralled by His Majesty.  And you know what's so interesting?  The more I trust my God, the less I trust myself.  The more I see my God in light of His perfection, I am stunned by my immense imperfection.  
 
My husband and I are currently reading the book "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan.  I have been especially blessed by the first few chapters of this book.  Why?  Because the author does such a fabulous job in my opinion of focusing our attention upon this Incomparable God whom we serve.  Let me share a few passages that have particularly blessed me:

In Chapter 2, Chan touches on the all-too-familiar struggles of worry and stress.  In one of the most poignant approaches I've seen, he addresses these issues by saying:

"Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives.

Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control.  

Basically, these two behaviors communicate that it's okay to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional.  Both worry and stress reek of arrogance.  They declare our tendency to forget that we've been forgiven, that our lives here are brief, that we are headed to a place where we won't be lonely, afraid, or hurt ever again, and that in the context of God's holiness, I am still dumb enough to forget that life is all about God and not about me at all" (Chan, Francis. Crazy Love. 42).

So much of our time on this earth is solely about us.  Admit it.  It's all about what we have, what we don't have, what we want to have, etc.  It's exhausting at times, don't you think?  Our stuff is the stuff that's exceptional.  I can echo Chan's cry here: "I am still dumb enough to forget that life is all about God and not about me at all."  And just down a few paragraphs, Chan speaks the following bold word, one that possibly all of us need to hear from time to time: 

"We have only our two-fifths-of-a-second-long scene to live.  I don't know about you, but I want my two-fifths of a second to be about my making much of God.  First Corinthians 10:31 says, 'So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.'  That is what each of our two-fifths of a second is about.  

So what does that mean for you?

Frankly, you need to get over yourself.  It might sound harsh, but that's seriously what it means" (Chan, 44).

He continues on to say:

"The point of your life is to point to Him.  Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified, because this whole thing is His.  It is His move, His world, His gift" (Chan, 44-45).

So, here's the question posed to you and to me: Are the riches of His love really enough? I mean, are they really enough?  Because like, they're meant to be enough.  When you and I cannot find satisfaction, it's not God's fault -- It's ours.  When I cannot seem to find enough substance in this life of mine ... When I cannot seem to find enough meaning in my relationships ... When I cannot seem to find enough reason for doing whatever I'm doing ... 

It's not His fault.  It's mine.  And when I want the benefits of knowing my God without the efforts of knowing Him [as I heard a pastor say last week], it's not His fault.  It's mine.

So I don't know, maybe it's just a day of realization for me.  Or maybe it's because of this book.  Or maybe it's because God has put some really humble people in my life lately -- The kind that make you want to be more holy.  Or maybe it's because I am just starting to understand that the riches of His love, really can be enough.  

Regardless of the reason, here I am.  Standing at a crossroads -- Will I choose me, or will I choose Him?

The Riches of His Love are indeed enough.

Are they enough for me?

My heart will sing no other name.  Jesus.  Jesus.