I remember back to when I was a student at Michigan State. Overnight, yellow-and-black posters covered the campus with the cryptic words: “I Found It.” Stickers, flyers, banners – those three words seemed to be everywhere. For days, students puzzled over what “it” could possibly mean. Then came the announcement: a gathering where the mystery would be revealed.
My roommate came back from class one afternoon and said, “Turns out it’s some Jesus freaks stuff.” It was an outreach strategy by Campus Crusade for Christ. At the time, I shrugged and went on with my life – classes, sports, fraternity life, and chasing after girls (not always in that order). I had no idea that I would soon be among those who “found it.” Looking back now, I realize I didn’t find it at all; the truth is, the Lord found me. He called me out of spiritual indifference (the shrug), deception (“I’m happy, why do I need God?”), distraction (“what else can I do or get?”), and disillusionment (“all that I have isn’t enough”).
Over forty-seven years, my walk with Christ has carried me through spectacular highs and excruciating lows. Friends have come and gone. Career successes and setbacks have ebbed and flowed. And family has brought the greatest joys and deepest sorrows. But the Lord and I remain inseparable – not because of my sometimes-flickering faith, but because of His faithfulness to guard even its dimly burning wick. He has held me fast when I could not hold myself. And despite what each day brings, the best part of waking up is knowing I get to spend every moment of it with Him.
Reflecting on this, my words to Him this morning were these:
Thank You, Lord,
for calling me out of darkness into Your marvelous light,
for continually renewing my life in You.
Thank You for nurturing my aspiration to know You better,
for keeping it alive and causing it to thrive.
I know I will never fully reach the heights in You my heart longs for,
yet I am not frustrated.
Because You satisfy me with the “more” of You each day,
even without having it all.
And that is my view from my place today: a life sustained not by what I’ve found, but by Who has found me.
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