Meditation:
Psalm 62:9-12 The sons of Adam are but a breath, the sons of man are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath. 10 Do not trust in extortion or take pride in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. 11 One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that to you, O God, is strength, 12 and that to you, O Lord, is love. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.[1]
What is wonderful about this attribute:
We are warned not to put any trust in men or goods. Any claim men make to power is a lie; the whole lot of them combined are air. And goods, while they make loud boasts that they will satisfy, are bankrupt in themselves. To God alone belong strength and love. So any expressions of strength and love – any deliverance, protection, help, or empowerment that comes through people or things – all comes not from those people or things, but from God.
Oh the greatness of God’s nature - this combination and perfect blend of omnipotence and beneficence. Without His love, His great power would crush us. What good would it be if God were powerful enough to take care of us and provide for us and lavish us with good things if He did not love us enough to do so? And without His power His love would be meaningless sentiment. What good would it be if He deeply loved us but lacked the power to do good for us? God’s love sweetens His power, and His power sets His love in unstoppable motion.
What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience God’s power and goodness together today?
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Experiencing this attribute:
What folly for us to look to anyone or anything for help or comfort when He is infinitely loving and infinitely powerful, and all goodness and power comes from Him alone. What do we have to be afraid of or to worry about? How can we be afraid when the God who covers us with the shadow of his wings is the same God who rules the universe with His rod, who holds on a leash the devil and all the wicked, and overrules their designs and intrigues? How can I despair when such a God loves me with a length and breadth and height and depth of love that is beyond knowing and yet that I have known?
Whenever you see an illustration of great power – a bulldozer or gravity or the currents of a river - consider how it lacks love. It does nothing to come to you. Any benefit you gain from its power is all your responsibility and your doing. But our experiences of God’s power are His doing.
Whenever you receive love from anyone, consider the incredible lack of power that person has and inability to offer any ultimate good or to fully satisfy you apart from God’s special grace. And let that draw your heart to God as the only source of power and love and the perfect blend of both.
And each time you become aware of a need in your life today, rejoice over the fact that your God has both the power to be able to meet that need, and the love to compel Him to meet it!
Think: In the circumstances of your life right now, which are you more inclined to doubt – God’s love or His power? And which of those are you most tempted to seek from some other source besides God?
Promise to trust today:
Jeremiah 32:17-19 Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. 18 You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the fathers' sins into the laps of their children after them. O great and powerful God, whose name is the LORD Almighty, 19 great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds.
Write your own prayer:
