I've been strong
And I've been broken within a moment
I've been faithful
And I've been reckless at every bend
I've held everything together
And watched it shatter
I've stood tall and I have crumbled
In the same breath
I have wrestled
And I have trembled toward surrender
Chased my heart adrift
And drifted home again
Plundered blessing
Till I've been desperate to find redemption
And every time I turn around
Lord You're still there
I was found
Before I was lost
I was Yours
Before I was not
Grace to spare
For all my mistakes
And that part just wrecks me
And I know I don't deserve this kind of love
Somehow this kind of love is who You are
It's a grace I could never add up
To be somebody You still want
But somehow
You love me as You find me
Who am I
To think Your glory needs my praises
But if this borrowed breath is Yours Lord
Take it all
You are faithful and You are gracious
And I'm just grateful
To think You don't need a single thing
And still You want my heart
I was found
Before I was lost
I was Yours
Before I was not
You wear the scars
For all my mistakes
And that part just wrecks me
Your love's too good to leave me here
If You want my heart
I won't second guess
'Cause I need Your love
More than anything
I'm in
I'm Yours
Your love's too good to leave me here
Your love's too good to leave me
(Written by Benjamin Hastings / Joel Houston / Matt Crocker; 2019; © Capitol Christian Music Group)
Those are lyrics from “As you Find Me”, a Christian song I stumbled across the other day. As I listened to this song, my eyes welled up with tears. I became overwhelmed by the thought of the awesome, amazing, unmerited and unending love and grace of God!
Incomprehensible love (cf. Eph. 3:17-19)!
A love so strong and so personal. As Augustine wrote: “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.”
I imagine David felt much the same when he wrote Psalm 103. Look at what he says in verses 8-14:
“{8} The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. {9} He will not always chide, nor will He keep His anger forever. {10} He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. {11} For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; {12} as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us. {13} As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear Him. {14} For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.”
As David considered God’s great love, I think he came to the same conclusion as the authors of this song: “God, You love me as You find me.”
And He does. He absolutely does!
God doesn’t wait until we have “cleaned ourselves up” to enter our life and bless us. He doesn’t wait until we have “earned” His love or proven ourselves “worthy” of His time and attention — as if that were even possible (cf. Rom. 3:23). He loves us from the get-go. He loves us despite the mess we make of our lives. He loves us when we are faithful and strong and continues to love us when we stray.
God loves you at this very moment.
And He loved you before you were ever born!
Job prayed:
“You guided my conception and formed me in the womb. {11} You clothed me with skin and flesh, and you knit my bones and sinews together. {12} You gave me life and showed me your unfailing love. My life was preserved by your care.” (Job 10:10-12, NLT)
Honestly, I don’t know what to do with a love like that. I can’t wrap my brain around it. It seems unreal. I often feel so undeserving of it. Whenever I stop to consider God’s unfailing love, as the song declares, “That part just wrecks me.”
But maybe David shows us how to respond to this love.
As he begins Psalm 103 he says, “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. {2} Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”
When faced with this extraordinary love, that is exactly what we must do. We must praise Him — and serve Him and obey Him and share Him and never forget how much He has done for us.
Let us then love Him till the end of our days. Then forevermore!