Skip to main content

The Becoming One

I have been wrestling with God this week. This has a predictable ending. I won't leave you in suspense. He pinned me firmly to the mat and held me there until I cried "Uncle!" It took a few days.

On Wednesday, I wrote this:

Famine and Psalm 33

I am starving
For companionship,
And conversation.
Hungry for meaning,
For purpose.
Will faith disintegrate
To dust under the enormity of this weight?
Carried at length
With no end in sight.
But God says
His eyes are on those who fear him
Who hope in His unfailing love
He will keep my spirit alive in this present famine.
He promises.
And so it is true.

I could not bring myself to post it then because I was still wrestling. Still nursing self-pity. Still lobbying for my rights. God is gracious. He did not grind my weak frame to dust and laugh "BUAA HAA HAA!" in a deep scary voice. Instead He lifted me up and dusted me off. He renewed my strength as I was reading Luke Chapter 11 in preparation for going through it with the kids. While reading Chuck Smith's commentary on the Lord's prayer, I learned Yahweh or Jehovah means The Becoming One. This is the I AM that God identified Himself as to Moses in Exodus Chapter Three. I checked the Hebrew and looked for other commentaries that agreed to be sure that Mr. Smith wasn't out in left field.

The Becoming One. The character of God is so enormous that we can spend a lifetime with Him and still be continually surprised by an aspect of Him that we had not previously considered. He reveals Himself to us slowly in bits and pieces so that we will not be overwhelmed by His complexity and His glory. He does not become real to us through study. He becomes real when we meet Him in our everyday lives. We recognize God as a provider when he provides. We recognize him as an encourager when he pours out his comfort in the Psalms and sends a friend at just the right moment with encouraging words. We recognize him as a Restorer when he picks up the pieces of our shattered lives and puts them back together as something whole and beautiful. He is not a stagnant, distant God but One who is so in tune with our lives that He becomes to us what we need when we need it.

We can live a victorious life when we live minute by minute and acknowledge our frailty. We do not need to try harder. Rather, we need to grip the hand of our Father harder. We must remind ourselves that God IS what we need. When we are tempted toward impatience God IS patience. When we are tempted toward anger God IS love. We begin to be sure, to be confident, of each expression of his character as we rely and He becomes.

Comments

ocean mommy said…
So powerful.

Love you
stephanie
Anonymous said…
Hi Kate,

Loved this post and I was reminded that we, too, are "becoming ones" as we seek His face, follow hard after Him, and wrestle with Him in the trials. I'm blessed and challenged to observe what YOU are becoming in Him. You exemplify what it means to reflect Him!

Much love,
Amy
Kathy said…
I appreciate your transparency. Until we cling to God's presence and are satisfied in his touch, we are like marbles in a pinball machine. Thanks for sharing your journey and your love for the Lord!
Rachel Anne said…
(Pretend this is in italics here...I don't know HTML) He reveals Himself to us slowly in bits and pieces so that we will not be overwhelmed by His complexity and His glory. He does not become real to us through study. He becomes real when we meet Him in our everyday lives.

So. Well. Said. Thanks!
God's girl said…
seriously, have you considered writing a book? You rock girl! You encourage and inspire me so much-perhaps the kick in the pants I need is moving to a smallville of my own! Praying for you!
Love you!
Ang
L.L. Barkat said…
I took this with me the other day, and it turned into sweet comfort for something that happened later in the day. Thanks!

Popular posts from this blog

The Child's Story Bible

I have recommended the following book so frequently that I think a post is in order so that I may recommend it to the world. In the early nineteen hundreds, when my grandparents were growing from children to adults, when they were meeting and marrying and making ends meet during the Depression, Catherine F. Vos was at work. She had been out shopping, looking for the perfect children’s story bible. The Christian bookstores of the day must have had the same unsatisfactory fare for young children that they carry today. Her standards were high as she was the wife of a professor of theology and she could not find what she was looking for. So she started to write. The results of her writing, The Child’s Story Bible was first published in stages between the years of 1934-1936. It’s been republished in every decade since that time. My grandparents had my parents and they met and married and had me and somewhere along the way I acquired a Bible. I read from the book of Proverbs from time to t

Entomology Artwork

Predacious Diving Larva and Beetle by John Lots and Lots of Ladybugs by Claire Mrs. Mosquito by Faith Atlas Fritillary by Lauren

A Sure Foundation

The kids and I have been nibbling our way through the book of Isaiah for months. It's our first venture as a family into the prophets. We wrestle with the message. It's a book for our times. Isaiah wrote to his people, the people of Judah, at the dawn of a long season of international turmoil. Assyria ran rough shod over the Middle East, followed in quick succession by Babylon, Persia and Greece. According to Isaiah, each empire was brought down because of they were quick to gloat over their achievements but failed to give God the time of day. The sin of haughty eyes he calls it. I brown the meat and simmer the stew and slice a crusty loaf of Italian bread but do not bow my head before I eat. It's the little red hen complex. I ground the wheat and kneaded the dough and sliced the carrots. I don't take into account that I didn't make the carrots or the wheat grow. I forget to be thankful that there are groceries in the pantry and healthy children around the table.