“Because he loves me, I will protect him; because he knows my name, I will deliver him. When he calls me, I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. With long life, I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (Psalm 91:14-16)
The psalmist expresses a truth we sometimes fail to recognize: Not only do believers seek after God, but the One who created us seeks to have a relationship with us, His children, as well.
As I contemplate my father’s life on the farm (present-day Country Dairy), I think about how God must have loved this meek, humble servant, Henry, and what a remarkable friendship developed between them.
A.W. Tozer’s prayer describes the mutual desire for friendship between God and man: “Help me yield myself to You and satisfy Your longing for connection and affection.”
It seems unthinkable that God, the great “I Am,” who needs nothing from us, would long for affection and connection with the humans He created.
Our friendship with God is not to be compared to our friendships with each other – friendships bound by limits, human frailties and inconstancy. It is a friendship, transcendent and incomprehensible, yet if we deem it beyond our human experience, we shut ourselves off from the truth that our God seeks to be friends with His children.
Jesus said, “No longer do I call you servants…for I have called you friends. All that I have heard from My Father, I have made known to you.” (John 15:15)
In scripture, Jesus reveals who He is and how we can be friends. He says, “Come to Me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart…” (Matthew 11:28-30)
What a Friend we have in Jesus: He seeks our company, He shares His deepest purposes with us, and He brings Himself to our level.
“Because He loves me."
Henry spent much of his time outdoors, in “the house where You live, O Lord,” where he came to love and honor his Creator. By spending time alone, thinking God’s thoughts, praying to His heavenly Father, he came to love his Lord. “You can see God everywhere, if your heart is set to love and obey Him.” (Tozer)
“Because He knows my name…"
As Henry toiled, his faith was forged by reciting scripture passages. While he did his daily chores, he learned to obey and submit his life to God’s will. He came to know the heart of Jesus.
“When He calls me…”
Living off the land, Henry was entirely dependent on the weather and nature’s unpredictability. No wonder he tended to be a pessimist — so many things could go wrong! And often did: windstorms destroyed the cherry crop; too little rain dried out the seeds; and too much washed them away. When Henry reached his limit, he turned to his heavenly Father and experienced the mysterious truth many saints know: “It is doubtful that God can bless someone greatly, until He has hurt Him deeply.” (Tozer) His faith grew stronger through trouble and hardship - and through it all - Henry never abandoned his Jesus. He learned to see beyond withering corn, parched fields and blighted cherries to view life from God’s perspective – my father learned wisdom.
“With long life I will satisfy Him…”
Henry spent all 87 of his years on the farm he loved. Though he traveled to please my mother, he always felt displaced and hankered to be home on the farm, where he found peace and where he felt closest to his Lord.
“The man who has met God is not looking for anything, because he has found it.” (Tozer)
How Jesus must have loved my father! Both loved nature and spent time alone; both knew what it meant to be vulnerable; both were gentle and meek and did the will of their Father.
When God called Henry home, He must have been as pleased to have him in Heaven as Henry was pleased to be there!
Postscript: God’s work with Henry was not finished, however. Years later, when my mother was lying on her deathbed, I listened, in amazement, as she chatted, lucidly, with Henry, who was “standing” at the foot of her bed. I do not doubt that God sent Henry to accompany his beloved Ellen to the pearly gates, where together they met their Friend and Savior, Jesus Christ.
