Because He Loves Me {Chapter 6}

All he asks is that we look away from ourselves and towards him.

Is it really that simple? Shouldn’t I have to do something else, move towards him, make some kind of public announcement, I don’t know…something. 

And yet the answer is no.  I don’t have to do anything but look at him and believe that He is and can.

I have struggled with ‘strength of faith’ issues.  I think that I am not good enough, that I have not done enough.  I wonder if the number of times I doubt myself or Him counts against me.  I am not worthy because I have had doubts.  My faith is not strong.

I love the way the Bible connects, how God repeats himself and uses the same imagery throughout just to help us understand better.  Somehow in my studies I had missed the story of the Israelites in the desert, or if I had heard it I had not held onto it with the understanding that Elyse has given me.  To understand that Jesus is that Bronze serpent that has come in living form is a wonderful revelation for me.  I can be that Israelite child, who, with God’s help, can look to the serpent upon the wood and trust that He will heal me.  It is like a weight off my shoulder.

Oh I ‘knew’ that there was nothing I had to do, that I was saved by grace, not by any works… and yet somehow, I didn’t know…

There were a number of quotes that Elyse wrote that stood out for me this week:

“Faith is simply believing that there is a God who loves us , in spite of the poison of sin coursing through our soul” p 97

“Whether we are overly introspective and excessively aware of our failures or blindly proud and self sufficient, the gospel dares us to look away to Another in faith” p 100

“He doesn’t frown at you when you recognise your neediness and cry out for his help” p 101 – and didn’t I need to hear this.  I am so caught up on not being a burden on anyone else.  My depression has caused me to want to call on people so frequently that I am left feeling like I am a burden to my friends and family.  I often feel that God doesn’t need to hear me ask yet again for something to feel better, for an answer, for anything.  To read this from Elyse is wonderful.  I might actually have to put it up on my wall or put it on the fridge to remind myself over and over… I am not a burden to him when I admit that I need him.

“The pride and arrogance that once commandeered our souls will be crushed beneath Golgotha’s blood soaked mount, as we perceive who we really are and what we truly deserve.  Anger and bitterness will be put away because we’ll remember that we’ve been forgiven by God for Christ’s sake so that we don’t have to fight for our rights.  As we pursue an ever growing understanding of the Lord, his gracious character and our need to rely completely on him, the motivation to respond in grateful obedience will grow within us.” p 104

Turn your eyes to Christ. Believe in His love. Rejoice.

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