Sunday, I hiked between three and three and a half miles on the Salmon River. This time of year, the river’s pretty swollen from the snow that’s melting and making its way down the mountain. Instead of a lazy, meandering river, it’s a roaring, crashing, white-capped beast, frothing downstream. On Sunday, I looked at the river and saw the furious longing of God.
How much must God love us to have created such a beautiful, glorious world for us?
I’m a thinker. Most of the time I’m an over-thinker. I worry about what’s going to happen, then once something has happened, I lie awake and wonder “what if?” I analyze every aspect of my life and pick it apart. Then, I take it to my trusted friends, and have them help me analyze it further.
But somehow, when I looked at the Salmon River, my head didn’t engage. My heart did. I saw a complex and intricately-created world that spoke to my heart and said, “God loves you. And God created this to share it with you.” And there was no second-guessing.
Brennan Manning says, “I have two choices. I can escape below into skepticism and intellectualism, hanging on for dear life. Or, with radical amazement, I can stay on deck and boldly stand in surrendered faith to the truth of my belovedness, caught up in reckless raging fury that they call the love of God. And learn to pray.” (Manning, 130-131)
I choose radical amazement and the love of God.
This post is part of a weekly discussion that I and my friend, Jason Stasyszen, have been co-facilitating on Brennan Manning’s “The Furious Longing of God.” If you have written a response to this week’s chapter, please feel free to link it up at the widget below. Thanks!
About Sarah Salter
I like this… What a wonderful way to describe one of God’s creations.. I have only been down the Nantahala River, in the mountains of NC and it is as beautiful as the one you described.. And you know me I try to analyze and “fix” things too…And I believe for sure that He created these beautiful things to share with us.. Thanks for reminding me..
I actually loved that quote too because it underscored the intensity of experiencing that love. To stay in that raging stream of His love and pursuit, we have to learn to pray. It’s not a sweet little experience, there are times we have to pray we can handle the encounter. He’s that big and great and awesome! We don’t have to be scared, but we do come with trembling and reverence. Thanks Sarah.
just keep choosing Him
choosing to believe
His love is wildly displayed as always when you share!
Radical amazemenet, reckless raging fury… not the perfect little Christian cliche’ of our walk with Jesus. But it is radical and reckless. And if we step back and reflect upon it it really is amazing. Yes we have two choices- to know about Him or to walk with Him.
Really enjoyed all the discussion. Thank you, Sarah for hosting!
Oh Sarah, I can so relate to this. I over-analyze and worry myself, and every once in a while I just take a deep breath and relax and let the love of God flow over me. Why I don’t do this more often is beyond me. I am getting better about it with age and am starting to do it more often! Thank you for this. I love Brennan Manning