10.10.2012

With Exceeding Joy

Do you ever wonder what God's smile looks like? I've never actually seen it with my own eyes, but my heart will often catch glimpses of it when I read certain passages of scripture. Like this one:

Jude 24 & 25

Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling,
and to present you faultless before the presence
of His glory with exceeding joy,

To the only wise God our Savior,
be glory and majesty,
dominion and power,
both now and forever.
Amen.

*italics mine


I have this image in my head of my second grade self putting on a pair of roller skates for the first time. Wait, which is scarier -- ice skates or roller skates? Probably ice, but since I never mastered that, I'll stick with roller skates. Anyways, I can remember sitting on the bench with my roller skates on, watching all the kids skate around the roller rink with perfect ease, me being too afraid to join them.

But imagine God calling me, or you, out onto the rink. You have no experience, no coordination, and just a nasty sense of fear plaguing you. But, you take His hand. You become a Christian. He takes you out on the floor.

I don't know about you, but often, I let my faith look like the pitiful picture of me hugging onto the wall, taking timid little steps, possessed by an overwhelming fear of falling down. I am deathly afraid of stumbling into sin, giving way to temptation, or falling into a transgression -- so much so, that I cannot even move.

Guess what? As long as you're holding onto the wall, with both hands even, you're going to fall. Because you're trying to do it on your own ability! But remember that God is at Your side. When you hold onto His hand, He will never let you fall. I think of my dad, the strongest earthly dad I know. Whenever I would start to trip, I could just feel the strength in his arms lifting up my own, helping me get in the groove again. How much more my heavenly Father?

When you're in your Abba Father's arms, He is more than able to keep you from falling.

Ah! Isn't this such a wonderful promise? And not only that, when our work here on earth is done, no matter how many times we think we've blown it or messed up, He will present us spotless, faultless, without blemish before His glory -- with exceeding joy. It is His joy, His desire to make us perfect before His throne, so much so that He will do everything in His power to keep us from falling. Can I get a hallelujah?

I can see the smile on my dad's face when at long last, he can watch me dancing on the skating rink with complete ease. And I cannot wait to see God's glorious, beaming grin when He presents me before the throne as one who has done no wrong. Wow.    

To God, who alone is wise, belongs all of the glory and majesty, and all the dominion and the power, now and forevermore. Amen!



* And I would hate for any of my words to distract your reading of this passage. I encourage you to just sit with these verses, meditate on them, and let God speak His own message of hope and encouragement to you. I just thought I would share what they meant to me. But He writes a different story upon each one of our hearts!

1 comment:

  1. You painted quite a beautiful picture with that skating rink allegory! I'm always trying to skate on my own, always resulting in falling, sitting there, and feeling sorry for myself; all the while my God is right there next to me with an outstretched hand, patiently waiting for me to realize I can't do it alone. You gave me much to think about, as I get so lost in guilt over sin that I lose focus on the fact that it's already been paid.

    Keep up with these writings! I look forward to your next blog post.

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