This is Personal.

So, here we are teetering on the brink of new beginnings.   It's the last day of 2017 and soon we'll be counting down the seconds to a brand new year.  2018.  It'll take a while for that to roll off the tongue, won't it? 

This morning - while one child yanked out a loose tooth, another upturned every laundry basket in the house searching for pants-without-holes and two others fought over emptying the dishwasher - I flipped through my purple pocket Bible.  I wanted to read through Psalm 18.  You see, we have this tradition in our house when there is a birthday.  It's a tradition that happens alongside devouring cake and singing Happy Birthday.  As a family, we read through the numbered Psalm that corresponds with the birthday person's new age.  So, if a child is turning 4, we read Psalm 4 together.  In light of this tradition and in preparation for a new year, I read Psalm 18.  Call it searching for a slice of calm in the midst of crazy chaos!

The din died down as the words pulled me in; immediately the Word-Nerd inside me sat up and took notice of several patterns. 

"Egads", thought I, "check out the overwhelming number of first-person pronouns in the psalm". 

The words "I", "me" and "my" are mentioned at least 93 times!  The other main character is God.  Me and God.  God and me. 

"This is personal," I thought.

God. 
He's not a distant relative who visits several times a year and then Skypes a few other times.  Sends a text or two in between.  He's not some random guy that you've only heard stories about and seen pictures of.  He's not a celebrity whose weirdo life story is plastered on the cover of grocery store magazines.  He is much much more.

He is MY God. 
He is MY rock.  He is MY fortress.  My shield.  My deliverer.  My stronghold.  He hears ME when I cry out in fear, loneliness, weakness, frustration, sadness, anger, anxiety.  He hears me and he responds and reacts to my cries.
Whoa, does He respond!  There are about nine verses smack in the middle of Psalm 18 where there is a complete absence of the pronouns "me", "I" and "my".  These are the verses describing God's reaction to me crying out to Him and this is not the reaction of a passive, passive-aggressive or inactive God.  These are verses filled with Activity!  God's reaction to me crying out is one filled with movement; there is "reeling", "rocking", "quaking", "thundering", "scattering" and "flashing" and then the foundations of the world are laid bare.  This is a God who made all things and can strip them all away.   

This is MY God. 
He is my support and guide.  He lightens up my darkness, rescues me from things that entangle, overwhelm and encompass me.  He equips me and trains me and makes me strong.  This is the take-home stuff of Psalm 18, people.  Run along and give it a read!
 
This God....is MY God.  I have a relationship with him that is just between me and Him.  Him and me.  I'm the weaker one, by the way, but when He's at my back I am so so strong.  Like biceps bulging strong!
Like, bring-it-on-world-I-can-take-you strong!
Like, I can BE BOLD and BE COURAGEOUS strong!

He is MY God.
And He can be YOUR God too because he's big and mighty and strong enough to go around.     

Today we are teetering on the brink of new beginnings.  2018 is only a few hours away.  Get ready to count down the hours, minutes and seconds.  Moisten those lips for Happy-New-Year smooches and lean into the very best embrace of all.
Lean into the love of a God who wants to get personal with you.
You and God.
God and You.


Happy 2018!

- BvH

"I love you, O LORD, my strength.  The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised and I am saved from my enemies."  

- Psalm 18: 1-3