Who is The Lord to you? Recently I was asked this question. Seems like a fairly "easy" question, but when asked I froze. See my head had all the "right" Christian answers. I read my bible. I go to church, attend the classes and go to bible studies. However, it seems when this question was asked my head was screaming "You know this!! creator!! and sustainer of the universe!! hellllooo- omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence omnibenevolence; Lord of heaven and earth!!!???" My head was shouting these to me. Which these are all correct answers, but when asked the question my immediately answer was "what do you mean". (a.k.a I have no idea).
My heart was silent.
My head knew these things but my heart seemed asleep.... or like it missed that sermon that day. Does it seem to you that your head can know things but your heart does not? Like somewhere there is a disconnect? I think lately God has been fixing these disconnects.
So I found myself realizing I didn't truly know who The Lord was. I have the head knowledge but not the heart relationship. I thought a great example of this was from a sweet friend: there are things we know about people that we can get from their Facebook status or twitter post or the Internet but we don't truly know them or have a relationship with them, so some things we know doesn't mean anything to our heart. We just know what we read- no real face to face connection. I just love that!
So we have the head knowledge of things about them, but we don't really have a one on one relationship with them. So our hearts may not feel a connection with the knowledge of really knowing this person. So my heart needed to connect with him, not just read things and know things.
After she asked this Todd White came to church and preached about trials and it was amazing. But the one thing he said that stuck was "if you don't know who The Lord is, you won't look at trials the right way!" Seems like God was wanting me to pay attention, to wake up...to be connected.
So I started asking Lord who are you? Who are you to me?! I know this certain things, the right trained Christian answer, but my heart seems to not be so sure. How long had my heart not been on the same page as my head?
Probably awhile.
So after leaving church I read and read and read.... and read some more. I started with His word. Looking for the words to jump at me. Looking for a highlighted section that would start a fire so deep in me that NOTHING would extinguish it! I read past words given to me. I read Jesus Calling and several other devotionals and prayed. I listened to songs and wrote down lyrics. I cried and prayed. I wrote everything down that jumped off the page. It seemed like everyone knew who He was and somewhere along the way I realized I had known at one time too, but trials in my life had made me confused, and doubt had come in. I had allowed the thief to kill, steal and destroy in my heart; the truth is haven't we all at one time and another?
However, in the midst of a trial He knew who I was. He knew where I was, and just like He has always done; He showed up in the perfect time. He had not left me. He knew the right time to start speaking to me. He is never early and never late a friend once told me; I am starting to understand that.
My heart is listening. My heart is soaking it up like a sponge! Yes that is right is. See the thing I am learning is the journey we are on is constant. You are and will always be learning! You will always be revealed new things! He is alive and still speaks today. So right now on this journey this is what my heart has connected to AND is holding on to. This is who The Lord is to me... And I hope this helps you...
Read Isaiah 12:2 -
here is my version- the highlighted words in my bible:
I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord is my strength ! He has become my salvation.
He is my salvation. He has (HAS) BECOME my salvation. I WILL TRUST! I will NOT be afraid! HE is my strength.
Salvation: deliverance from sin and its consequences! Rescue! Saving! Redemption! Deliverance! Escape. Salvation is being delivered from harm, ruin or loss.
This is who The Lord is.
My heart knows it. Does yours? Will you connect with this truth and let Him be your salvation?