“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.” (Revelation 21:3)
Care. What a seemingly simple, and yet deeply impactful series we have walked through the past few weeks. The above verse we read on Sunday has stuck with me–finding its way into sore spots in my heart, soothing hurts I thought were already healed, and leading me to rest in this truth: God’s dwelling place is with us.
That is utterly astounding, and a truth I do not meditate on nearly enough.
This summer I have felt challenged by the Lord to face my own limitedness. My schedule is limited. My emotional capacity is limited. I so desperately want to be everything to everyone, to meet all of the needs that I see, and to be a happy and healthy human while doing so!
But I can’t.
And you know why?
I am not God.
In the Fall narrative, man wanted to be like God. We wanted to define what was good and evil on our own terms. We saw what was good in our own eyes, and we took it. There are many tragedies to be found here, but the one that hits me is that we already were like God. We were created in His image! And yet we traded dwelling with God for the facade of independence.
I often trade reliance on the Lord for reliance on myself. And the result is always the same!
The truth that I have learned is that the beauty of being limited is that we get to run to a God who is unlimited. We get to receive care from the God of the universe who has always and will always desire to dwell with us. He cares for us by giving Himself to us. All we have to do is look to Immanuel, God with us, and the Spirit, who indwells us, to know this is true.
That truly is astounding.
In my limitedness I have learned to ask for care and have been met with abundance from God’s people. But most importantly, I have begun learning what it means to desire God above all else. To simply be with Him. To remove myself from the throne of my life and to desire to dwell with God because God first desired to dwell with us.
This week we enter back into Romans. We paused last spring with the end of Romans 11, and I will leave you also with this comfort and praise:
“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
