BEHOLD, YOUR GOD!!!

“Behold your God!” Psalm 113:5—Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, Psalm 46:10—Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 73:25,26—Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my hear may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Isaiah 40:9—Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news, lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” “Behold your God!” How awesome is that! The great end to the Christian life is God and we should behold Him in profound ways because he is incredibly profound! For centuries people have been taken aback by His ever-present Glory. Steven Curtis Chapman once wrote: “I am speechless, I’m astonished and amazed I am silenced by your wondrous grace You have saved me, You have raised me from the grave I am speechless in your presence now, I’m astounded as I consider how, You have shown us a love that leaves us Speechless” I love the book of Psalms. There are many reasons but the main reason is because as a songwriter, I tend to get a little more out of songs than most people. But I have found that the prophet Isaiah has spoken some of the strongest words to my heart. “lift it up, fear not:….. ‘Behold you God’”. Isaiah refers to Zion and Jerusalem as “herald of good news”. These words are followed by “behold your God”. The good news is referring to the gospel. Why is the gospel such good news? There is no greater gain in life than Christ. The psalmist asked who is like our God? The answer: no one. Nobody is like our God. That is what puts the “good” in “good news”. There are a lot of benefits of belonging to Christ such as going to heaven, an abundant life, forgiveness of sins, the Holy Spirit, peace that passes understanding, refuge in stormy weather, Godly love, etc… The list goes on and on. But all of these benefits are screaming “BEHOLD YOUR GOD!” There is nothing wrong with finding joy in these things. In fact it is right to find joy in these things. But the key word is “in” these things. In the very center of all things is Christ. (Romans 11:36) That is where you find your joy. I am excited about going to heaven but not because of streets of gold, pearly gates or loved ones that I long to see. Those things will be great but only because God is awesome! Our excitement about heaven should be in being with our father in all of His glory! I love the truth of being forgiven of sin, but not because it rids me of a guilty conscience. I love this truth because it means being restored to God and enjoying Him. It is a very dangerous thing when we begin to love the gifts more than the giver. There was a poor man who once had the invitation to come and fly in a small airplane free of charge. Opportunities like this were not offered everyday so he accepted the invitation with great joy. As he arrived at the airport he was instructed to board the small six-passenger plane. Once inside the pilot fired up the engines and they were off. The poor man was so fascinated by the cockpit that he couldn’t help himself. He read all of the switches and gauges and was quite impressed with all that made this airplane operate. He loved the airplane and began to envision himself never getting out of the plane. But much to his dismay the plane landed and the ride was over. “This is a really nice plane!” he said to the pilot. “Thanks, but how did you like the Grand Canyon?” He responded, “the grand what?” This is a picture of many of us. We get so caught up in the plane that we miss the glorious Grand Canyon. I plead with you to not get caught up in the things that God provides. Get caught up with who He is. Be still and know that he is God. Josh Martin