Who but You?

But sadly, in our lifelong quest for life, most people ignore God. Even for the believer, whose salvation is sure, in our God amnesia, we look for life where it cannot be found, and because we do, we always come up empty, thirsty, and unsatisfied.

You can search for life in only two places. Either you have found life to the fullest vertically in Christ or you are shopping for it horizontally.

Again today, Christ promises you life. It’s what he came to live, die, and rise again to give you. That empty tomb not only means he has conquered death, but it tells you he has life in his hands, the kind of life all human beings were designed to long for whether they know it or not.

You can’t find or earn that life on your own. It is yours only by means of the work of another.

Could it be today that you will fretfully search horizontally for what you have already been given in Christ? Will you try to drink from an empty well when you have already been given thirst-quenching living water?

Why do I wander?
Why do my eyes turn from you
to other things?
Why do I listen to other
voices?
Why do I give my heart away?
What do I think I will find
that is better than you?
What can compete with the
glory of your grace?
What else has the power to
satisfy my heart?
Where else can I drink the
pure waters of life?
What bread is there to be found
that will forever satisfy my hunger?
Who but you will strengthen me
when I am weary and weak?
Who or what else has the power
to rescue me from me?
Who will offer me love that
will not weaken or fade?
Where will I turn to find a
storehouse of wisdom so deep?
Who else would pay the ultimate
price for my forgiveness?
Who is there to look to to rule over
what I could never control?
Who loves me so much as to never
ever leave me alone?
Who would offer me purpose more
glorious than any plan I’d have for myself?
Who is a better, more faithful friend
and brother than you are?
Who reaches into the darkness
pulling me out of my idolatries?
Who could I look to to provide
everything that I could ever need?
Where else would grant me a destiny
that is glorious and eternally secured?

There is nowhere to look,
there is no one to be found,
there is no person or power
in heaven or on earth
that can be for me what you are.
There is no person or power
in heaven or on earth
who can do in me what you have.
There is no person or power
to give the gifts you have so
generously given me.

Your love is boundless.
Your wisdom is infinite.
Your power is beyond comparison.
Your grace is inexhaustible.
Your patience never ends.
Your faithfulness is unbroken.
You are beautiful, glorious, and good.
There is nowhere else to look.
There is nothing or no one
that compares to you.

Psalm 63

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
they shall be a portion for jackals
But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

(ESV)

A Prayer for Today: Lord, you are good, loving, powerful, gracious, patient, caring, faithful, beautiful, and glorious. No one or nothing compares with you. Admittedly though, I try running to other people and places to find what can only be found in you. Please forgive me for wandering to the wrong places and hunting in a horizontal direction when I should be going vertically to you. Please give me the grace I need to earnestly seek you. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Discussion Prompt for Children

1. Who or what makes you the most joyful? Why do you think it’s so easy to forget that God will always bring us the most joy in life?

2. How can we know for sure that Jesus provides us with true life that doesn’t compare to anyone or anything else?

3. If Jesus has already provided true life for anyone who is in Christ, why do you think we still keep looking for life in other places? How can you and I help each other to search for life and love in Jesus instead of other people and places?

Reflection Questions

1. In the past, where have you found yourself searching for life apart from God? How did that search disappoint you?

2. In what ways has Jesus provided satisfaction for you in ways that nothing else in this world could provide?

3. How has your personal “God amnesia” prevented you from running to him in your search for satisfaction in life? Who or what circumstances have reminded you of where true satisfaction can be found?

4. In what ways does the empty tomb give you hope and assurance that Jesus is real and true life can be found in him? In what areas of your life is God calling you to change and earnestly seek him? If Jesus has already provided true life for anyone who is in Christ, why do you think you might still keep looking for life in other places?