Life Coaching: Who Is God?

Nezahualcoyotl was a ruler in Mexico before the arrival of the Europeans. He once wrote, “Truly the gods, which I worship, are idols of stone that do not speak or feel… Some very powerful, hidden and unknown god is the creator of the entire universe. He is the only one that can console me in my affliction and help me in such anguish as my heart feels; I want him to be my helper and protection.” This may be a case of Nezahualcoyotl living up to his name, which means “hungry coyote.” He was definitely hungry for the One True God, but didn’t know how to go about finding Him. He had never heard of The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But one thing he did know…there was a God out there somewhere and it was not the god he had been worshipping.

I do not know the heart of this man. I can’t know if he truly found God. But I do know this…God’s Word says if we seek Him, we will find Him if we search for Him with our whole heart. I have to believe that a man who wrote such lovely words and who went on to build a temple to honor “the God who paints things with beauty” was a God finder. Even if he did have an unpronounceable name…

Who is God? What does He mean to you? How to you seek Him? And when you seek, how do you find? These are just a few questions to ponder today. Do we think enough about who God really is? When we pause to just think about the awesome power of God, do we tremble and fall down on our face to worship? Do we think about it at al? I suppose I am in awe of Nezahualcoyotl. (I am going to have to figure out a way to shorten that name if I have to write it many more times). This dude had pretty much everything he would wish for, yet he was empty.. I am reminded of the ancient Romans who built a temple to an unknown god, just in case they’d forgotten one.

My point is…we were born to know God. We were created for community with Him. He wants that and so do we! Our hearts long for it. We may not know what the longing is, but we know something missing in our hearts. We are unfulfilled without Him. He may start out as our “unknown god” but if we search for Him, she soon becomes our “Known God”.

It’s ok to trust an unknown future to a known God. As we get to know Him, rely on Him, and worship Him, we can see His character and nature manifest itself in us. We become what we love, in a sense. And in the becoming, we draw closer to the heart of God and closer to knowing His excellent character. And in that knowing, our faith is developed. We ask, we seek, we find.

*Story about Nezahualcoyotl was taken from “Our Daily Bread” 2016