Unless the Lord

God is the Alpha and Omega – that is the beginning and the end. We might think we are the centre of this world but we are not. We are simply part of this world, a piece in God’s manifold wisdom and creativity. This world was not created by us, for us and through us but that does not stop us humans from believing that it was. It is important for us to remember our place, remember where we came from and what brought us or who brought us where we are. God created man, which means man owes everything to God. It was God’s goodness and mercy that opened the door for man to exist. The Lord is self-sufficient, He does not need anything or anyone to feel worthy. He does not need the presence of another being to feel superior, unlike us, He does not feed on people’s thoughts and feelings. In today’s post, my goal is to humble us by pointing us back to the beginning.

The bible starts with the famous words “in the beginning God…” (Genesis 1:1) as a clear indicator that God is the author of the story and the star of it all. It points to the fact that God is the sustainer of all things, that He is the one who makes all things and keeps them together. He is above all things. Paul likened God to a potter who makes clay which brings it back to the point of God being a creator. More than being a creator, God is powerful and His power can be enacted everywhere. He is omnipresent; Psalm 139 says “where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there”. He is also omniscient – meaning He knows all things, nothing is hidden from Him. That is also one reason why in the same Psalm, the cry of the psalmist is for God to search him and know his heart, to see if there is any wickedness in him (Psalm 139:23-24). Similarly, in Jeremiah, the Lord says that He searches the heart and examines the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct (Jeremiah 17:10). There are many more attributes of God but these alone should make us stop and ponder about the difference between Him and us, it should cause us to be humble.

Psalm 127 says “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain”. This statement brings us back to God as the author and sustainer of all things. There is nothing in this world that can have life without God giving it life. This might be difficult to swallow for us prideful men and women but it is the truth. We did not bring ourselves into this world and we cannot keep ourselves in this world. God himself has to intervene. In the book of Deuteronomy, when Moses is about to die, he gives the people of Israel his final counsel and advice. One such advice was telling Israel that they did not understand what the Lord had done through His mighty acts because He had not given them a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear (Deuteronomy 29:4). This is a powerful statement which essentially supports the point that, unless the Lord gives you understanding you remain in your darkness. You see, Israel had failed to see what the Lord had done, such as taking care of them in the desert, ensuring their sandals and clothes did not wear off. This act might have been taken as a given, something common however it was nothing but an extraordinary act. To be wandering in a desert for forty years and not lack anything is simply mind-blowing. So the fact that Israel failed to see this as explained by Moses is because they had not received understanding. In the salvation process, God is the one causing our hearts to burn for him, He is the one convicting us of our sins, in fact, we love because He first loved us. God himself had to enable us to love and know Him before we could boldly come and proclaim Jesus Christ as our Lord and saviour. Jesus too said “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44). The Father has to open our eyes and heart first before we can accept Him, the Father has to give us a new heart before we can come to Him. If it weren’t for God, we who have trusted in Him and in the sacrifice of His son Jesus on the cross would not be called sons and daughters of the Most High. I thank God for His kindness, compassion and mercy unto us sinners for without those, I wouldn’t have known Him.

Knowing that God is the author and sustainer of all things, that He is at the centre of our lives and that nothing we can do can be done without His prior approval should humble us. Knowing our place in this life, that is, we are not the point of this world should cause us to come before our Maker with humility and fall on our knees to pray. Prayer then is the right posture for us, because through prayer we acknowledge we are small and incapable. At the same time, we also tell God that we know He is able and is in control of the situation. Prayer also reminds us that we are dependent on God for any and everything. It is our rightful place. I pray we continually thank the Lord in our lives for the new heart we have been given in Christ, for our eyes that have been opened so far and may we continue to humbly ask him to know, see and understand what we do not today. Amen.