Behind the Design: The Reach of God’s Love

No mountain is too high, nor is any valley too low for God.

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

The message I’m trying to share is that the loving and holy God can reach you wherever you are. It doesn’t matter if you are on a mountaintop looking to see where the earth begins and where it ends. It doesn’t matter if you are in the lowest valley searching for the way out. Wherever, whenever, whatever, or whoever… there’s never an “ever” that goes past God. 

Psalm 139:7-12 "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.  If I say, 'Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,' Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You."

When I consider earth and science, I’m in awe. There must be a purpose for it. How could all these details, both unique and intricate, come together without a designer behind the scenes? I’ve come to know this designer as God of endless power, wisdom, and love.

God, the Creator of the universe, is never limited by His own creation. You are never too far gone or too far along for God’s reach. I must warn you that there is a way to avoid God: to be determined to reject Him. God extends His hand of love and mercy, but not everyone takes it. So, before you fall from your mountaintop in pride or get lost in the valley in despair, remember Who was there at the beginning of time and is here now waiting for you.

Romans 5:6-8 "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

God extends His hand toward the sinner. He extends it to the nonbeliever as an invitation for a relationship. His hand holds the believer even if the believer isn’t holding on that tightly. 

Matthew 14:30-31 "But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Immediately, Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, 'You of little faith, why did you doubt?'"

God's power has no boundaries (Story of 1 Kings 20). Then a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because the Arameans have said, “The Lord is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys,” therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’”

Your circumstances do not limit GOD. Your fears do not limit GOD. Your weakness does not limit GOD. How could we call God “God” if He were?

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 "And He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

If you need a reminder of how powerful God is, read God’s reply to Job (Job 38-41).

If you need a reminder of how much God loves us:

• “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.” John 15:13

• “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:1-10

Designed for Camp Students

I'm so blessed to have the privilege of sharing God's love with others, and I get to do that again with European friends I met last year. In less than a couple of months, I'll be traveling to Prague to bring God's love in both deed and truth. If you want to learn more about the purpose and logistics, as well as how to pray, visit this page.

This year, I want to give them something to help them remember our time together. I wanted a design that the students would find meaningful and that also communicates God's love. Though we share sweet times in the mountains, we won't always be together. I'll go back to the United States, and the students will go back to their European countries. However, the love that we embraced isn't even comparable to the magnitude and power of the love that God offers. God's love can change your life, and it doesn't matter if the Americans are on the other side of the world. We don't have to be at the camp in the mountains to experience God's love because God's love can reach you anywhere.

I pray this sticker serves as a reminder of the mountains and friendship at camp. May this be a reflection of the Creator and His love towards creation.

Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse."

Sticker Made for Camp Students