Belonging

I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. Leviticus 26:12
 
In this part of the Old Testament, after explaining all the laws of Holy Living to the Hebrews, God begins to recite his blessings for them. I love these words…I will walk among you. Years and years before Christ, we have a picture of his walking in our shoes, along our roads, among us. God came near. God placed his dwelling with us…first in his tent of worship, then in Christ being with us, and finally through his Holy Spirit making his home in our hearts.
The second part of this verse speaks to me of belonging. I think we all long to be part of something that matters…a family, a team, a relationship, a company, a church… When we uproot and no longer feel our security in belonging to whatever we were a part of, we feel lost and long to latch onto something new. The God of our souls knows this need and I think he also has this need. Over and over in the Old Testament, God repeats…I will be your God and you will be my people. We belong to God. That part makes sense…he is our creator. The next part blows my mind…HE BELONGS TO US! The God of the entire universe, the Almighty, the Creator, he is ours. He puts himself out there for us to hold onto. More than the company we work for, the church we attend, the friends we have, we belong to God Almighty and He belongs to us. That to me speaks a security that satisfies, a soul rest in my Father’s arms. And yet, we are so human and forget and search for what’s right in front of us and lean on what this world has to offer rather than focusing on belonging to God. I know I sure struggle with this. Today, let’s spend some quiet resting in the Father’s arms, knowing He belongs to us and we belong to Him.

​​​​Father God, you are our creator, our Mighty God, and yet in your love for us, you understand our need to belong. Help us find peace as we focus on our belonging to You today. Thank you for making your dwelling with us and walking among us. Lord, help us to walk step by step with you today. In insecure moments, help us to look to you to satisfy, to fill us rather than reaching for the world’s quick fixes that increase the ache of our souls.
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