Two verses in 1 Chronicles 22 clue us in on what is needed to have bold inscriptions on our gravestones. Words that might point those who pass by them to the Giver and Author of life. “Now set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God” (verse 19). And “Be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed” (verse 13). In fact, the latter were some of the last words King David spoke to his son, Solomon, regarding the great responsibility of being king. He preceded those inspiring words with these, “Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the LORD commanded Moses for Israel” (earlier in verse 13).

David knew God well. He was aware that seeking Him led to good things that came directly from the sustaining hand of God—strength, power, victories, success, joy. “Blessed be the LORD, who daily bears us up” (Psalm 68:19). He knew that acting on a disobedient impulse led to failure and disappointment. Yet, he knew God knew him, loved him, drew him to repentance, and forgave him over and over again. “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!” (Psalm 51:2). The more David knew God, the more He loved God, the more His desire was for God, the greater his trust in God multiplied. Is that not so for each of us? 

Which of us has not witnessed “the signs and wonders” of God’s close-up and personal intervention in our lives? The many days of our lives. The hopeful promise in spring flowers and budding trees. The sight and sound of the sparkling, lapping ocean waves. The majesty of a mountain range from a distance or the glory of standing on a mountain top and breathing in the beauty below. The sight of a child emerging from the womb. The cry of a newborn. Loved ones gathering around a festive table. Health restored after illness. The comfort of a loving family. Sleeping through the night. There is no end to this list. 

Yet, these are the least of the wonders. It is holy week as I write this. The week we particularly think and meditate on the greatest Wonder of all. Jesus didn’t come to prove anything. To convince anyone. He came to ensure a Kingdom. To call a Church. To love a people. To provide a way to save those people for Himself forever. To ultimately give Himself a perfect Bride. A Bride to take delight in, to sing over, to bless. He wrote His story in a Book. The Book contains all His promises to those He died for. It details His covenant with us. His Spirit mingles now with our own souls. Because of Jesus. “How can we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3). Indeed!

And so much we gain, when we receive His salvation! “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). We now know Him—not fully of course—but He has made promises to us, and we’ve taken our vows in response. Like David, the more we know, the more we love. The more we love, the more we desire. The more we desire, the more we seek. We grow to see the need to have Him more and more.

Here's the strange thing. The remarkable thing. We do the most growing under the toughest circumstances. During the desert years, like the Israelites.  Ann Voskamp writes in her new book, Waymaker, “And in the beginning was the Word, the Logos, the literal logic of God, and in the logic of God, the mystery of manna can sustain us all on hard journeys, and five fish will feed five thousand bellies, and the only One who literally loves you to death will rise and raise you with Him too.”

Because Christ actually shares Himself bigtime in our sufferings. And it often turns out that when we look back years later to remember those sufferings, what we actually remember best is the part when Christ loved us more during the difficult times than we could have ever dreamed or comprehended. The precious time we spent with Him. The abundant provisions He sent our way. Seeing Him in what we were reading, or in how His people ministered to us. Feeling that we were being held safely in the everlasting arms underneath us. Hearing Him in the music of worship. He filled our senses with his steadfast love. His “resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering” (Oxford Dictionary) love.  

What I remember most now about the aftermath of my divorce is the quiet, worshipful, music I would fall asleep to at night, waking moments when the assurance of Jesus’ presence was so real, the many underlined scripture passages that seemed to jump off the page at me.  I remember three dear friends who shared similar experiences after being diagnosed with cancer and before they went home to their Savior. One dear friend I was living with during those months, and sometimes I would hear her singing in a clear voice from her sickbed a hymn of praise. Hear Job say in the midst of his trials: 

“For I know that my Redeemer lives, 

and at the last he will stand upon the earth.

 And after my skin has been thus destroyed,

yet in my flesh I shall see God,

whom I shall see for myself,

  and my eyes shall behold, and not another” (Job 19:25-27).

This hope blossoms within us as we grow in Christ. As we expectantly await that great wedding feast when we join our Bridegroom in new and perfect resurrected bodies. When the old is forever behind us and all things—even our bodies, are made new. That glorious day cannot come too soon.  How can The One and Only God, The God with His only begotten Son, love us so much?! We can only offer a sacrifice of praise. 

I have a strong Christian heritage on my father’s side of the family and at some point, during our family reunions we always sing an old favorite of ours, “When We All Get to Heaven.”

Sing the wondrous love of Jesus
Sing His mercy and His grace
In the mansions bright and blessed
He'll prepare for us a place

When we all get to heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be
When we all see Jesus
We'll sing and shout the victory

While we walk the pilgrim pathway
Clouds will overspread the sky
But when travelin' days are over
Not a shadow, not a sigh

When we all get to heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be
When we all see Jesus
We'll sing and shout the victory

Onward to the prize before us
Soon his beauty we'll behold
Soon the pearly gates will open
We shall tread the streets of gold

When we all get to heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be
When we all see Jesus
We'll sing and shout the victory.  

–E. E. Hewitt (1898)