Driving home that warm October evening some years ago, I stopped by the nearby lakeshore to savor it’s beauty before the cold weather set in. I live in Minnesota where warm days are especially appreciated. During this particular October, several days of 80 degree temperatures produced what felt like an extended summer. But change was coming; the cold and snow would soon be here. So while I could, I would wade into the lake one more time before winter.
I drove my car up close to the shore and got out. At the nearest neighbor’s, the house was dark and quiet. I was glad to be alone and walked knee-deep out into the lake. The water was chilly, but it felt good on my tired feet. I relaxed and took in the view around me.
The sun had set and the last glow of light illuminated the west and spread pale color over the still, glassy lake. The trees on the far bank were silhouetted on the water, and above shown the most beautiful crescent moon. As I took this all in, it seemed surreal; things just don’t naturally line up this well, with that crescent moon suspended in exactly the right spot in this scene.
A quiet hush blanketed the atmosphere. Occasionally a fish would jump and make a slapping sound as it plunged again, and across the lake, a bird called. A great blue heron soared silently just over the surface of the water and landed a short distance away.
I breathed deep. With great appreciation and gratitude for all this beauty that my Father God had designed, I whispered, “Lord, I just love this!” And then I heard, or maybe felt Him say, “Let me show you what I see…” I saw the view pulled back just enough so that now I was in the picture; in the center of the picture, to be exact. And I heard my Father God say, “This is what I love!”
And then I had a moment, right then and there, standing knee-deep in a lake at twilight. I felt the gaze of Almighty God enveloping me with His love, making me feel like I was the center of the universe to Him, the apple of His eye. It was love I couldn’t comprehend, but more real than anything I had ever experienced. The realization came that God wants to make known this deep, powerful, and awe-filling love to every individual person. The question is, can we receive His love?
Over thirty years previous to this evening by the lakeshore, I’d had a different encounter. I was a teenager who professed Jesus as my Savior, and I was serving God in my own capacities in what I knew to do. Unexpectedly, I had a vision of Jesus. He was right there, in the car with me! In His eyes, I saw pure, liquid love; oceans of love. In an instant, I knew He saw me completely; He knew me completely; and yet He loved me completely! But my soul was so full of shame…I couldn’t hold His gaze, and I looked away. When I looked back, the vision was gone. For years afterward, I wondered how I might have been changed, if I could have only been able to continue gazing into those eyes of love.
Over the years, as I read and studied the Bible, God’s Word, I began to understand more of God’s wonderful plans for me, and of all He did to make it possible for me to actually know Him. I saw the enormous price that was paid for my life to be redeemed; that Jesus gave His own life to set me free from sin. These revelations were setting me free from old ways of thinking and bringing healing to many aspects of my life.
I loved the Lord, I was ambitious, and so I wanted to serve Him. I served in diverse capacities, in whatever ways I could, and then began developing talents to serve along certain lines. I served and served; at some point I became more of a human do-ing than a human being. But I was striving for people’s acceptance rather than drawing closer to God in a relationship that pleased Him the most. As can be expected, eventually I wound up hurt and disappointed not only with people and the church, but even more so, I disappointed myself. I was a failure in the things I held most dear.
It’s a fearful thing when a person comes to the end of all their own efforts, self-righteousness and personal dignity. But when I fell before the Lord, I fell into His arms of love. I found that He had never left me, but was always right there, as close as my breath. What a relief to let go of my own striving, and begin to rediscover myself in Him!
Can you see yourself from God’s point of view? Can your heart receive His transforming power? If not, what’s holding you back? After all is said and done, there’s nothing comparable to living life enveloped in His love, walking daily in the awareness of His presence.
Every day, my heart is overflowing with thankfulness towards God; He has blessed me with all good things. My family is blessed, my home is blessed, my relationships are blessed, my church is blessed! New discoveries of His goodness are found continually.
Friend, you can trust God; you can trust Jesus. Open your heart to receive!
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