The Most Important Thing About Us

Shelter in place orders during the COVID-19 pandemic provide ample time for introspection. This can yield both positive and negative results. It causes us to ponder on self-improvement strategies, reorder priorities, and think about what’s most important in life. But it can also send us spiraling so far inward that we forget to look upward. Twentieth century author and pastor A.W. Tozer wrote in his book, Knowledge of the Holy, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” As God’s image bearer, I must rightly understand what He is like in order to live out my calling. I can’t think of a more fitting way to effectively utilize time in isolation than to reflect on the One who is the author of every page of my life.

As I consider God’s character and rehearse His attributes, His holiness is the first thing that comes to mind. I think about how His awe-inspiring purity makes Him separate and unique from me. I realize that I am utterly flawed, but marvel that He is using the experiences of my life to sanctify me and make me more like Him every day. It is only in going through this process that He purifies my life and enables me to one day enter into His presence.

When I contemplate His omniscience, I try to wrap my mind around the fact that He is outside of time and possesses all knowledge perfectly at all times. He knows what will happen tomorrow with as much certainty as He knows what happened yesterday. I can rest securely knowing that He knows what I could never know, and that is enough for me.

Thoughts of God’s sovereignty comfort me in the midst of an increasingly turbulent world. As creator of the world and everything in it, He has the right to do as He will. Tozer pictures God’s sovereignty as a ship that will reach His predetermined destination, even while He allows us, as passengers on His vessel, to make our individual choices. Because the Sovereign of the universe is also my compassionate heavenly Father, I know that in working out His will, He is also lovingly working out every detail of my life. Despite the myriad mistakes I make, His purposes will ultimately be accomplished.

I also stand securely in God’s immutability. He never changes, and as the great I AM, is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Unlike me, he does not shift and change with the wind or whim of the moment. I can be confident that He will always act consistently with His character, and I do not have to ever wonder about his love for me.

Meditating on God’s promises restores my soul. I can know with absolute certainty that His promises are true because God Himself is the very standard and source of all truth. He cannot lie, so I know His promises will stand perfectly into eternity. I think about how He has been with me in the past, and remember that He promises never to leave me nor forsake me in the future. He will be with me when I am rejoicing in His goodness on the mountaintop, or when I am stumbling over my own failures down in the valley. He promises to hold me in His arms when I need comfort and to direct me in the right paths when I look to Him.

My favorite hymn is I’d Rather Have Jesus, and my favorite verse is the third which says, “He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom. He’s sweeter than honey from out of the comb. He’s all that my hungering spirit needs. I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead.” Because of who He is, He truly is all I need. In spite of who I am, He still desires to have a relationship with me. As I spend time thinking about what makes Him who He is, I am even more in awe of His relentless pursuit of me.

Whatever comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about all of us. I encourage you to take some time today to contemplate our Creator. Spend some time in His word discovering who He says He is. Reflect back on life experiences that reveal His work in your life. Look around at the world He created and discover how He manifests His glory in nature. Doing so will absolutely renew your focus and enable you to confidently point others to Him.