Nahum 1 -- Shaken To My Boots

Nahum was given a message to deliver to Assyria and its capital city, Nineveh.  God, with the righteous jealousy of a husband for his wife, announced judgment and destruction for the Assyrians for their mistreatment of His people.

The first seven verses of the first chapter tell us a lot about God.  It was verse 6 that really made me stop and think:

“No one can stay alive when He is angry; no one can survive His strong anger.  His anger is poured out like fire; the rocks are smashed by Him.”

That gripped me as I read it.  No one can stay alive when He is angry …

…… yet we do.  And it’s only because of His great love.  We are so undeserving of it.  We deserve to receive everything He promises Nineveh here.  Yet He loves us.  Oh, how He loves us!  I am so thankful that His love drew me to Him, and when I turned away in pride, He didn’t destroy me but loved me all the more.  He drew me back with that love and led me to understand that it’s nothing about my worth that led Him to do that.

The sidebar in my Bible, by C.S. Lewis, says, “God’s love, far from being caused by goodness in the object [us], causes all the goodness which the object has, loving it first into existence and then into real, though derivative, lovability.”

It’s only because of His love that I exist at all, and that I am lovable to Him at all.

Why me, Father?  Why ME?  Thank You for all that You are and all that You do.  I don’t know why You ever decided to love me into existence, but I’m glad that You hung with me until I could finally ask that question.  Eternity will not be long enough for me to say thank You for all You’ve done and for Your precious love!

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford