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| Read verses six and seven of Song of Songs chapter 8 as if God is speaking them to you:
Place me like a seal over your heart,
like a seal on your arm;
for love is as strong as death,
its jealousy [ardor*] unyielding as the grave. [its ardor* is as inflexible as Sheol.]
It burns like blazing fire,
like a mighty flame. [A vehement** flame of the Lord.]
Many waters cannot quench love;
rivers cannot wash it away.
If one were to give
all the wealth of his house for love,
it [he] would be utterly scorned.
*Ardor: enthusiasm or passion, from ardere “to burn”
**Vehement: showing strong feeling; forceful, passionate, or intense
Do you have any idea how crazy in love God is with you?
Song of Songs 7:10 says: I belong to my lover, and desire is for me.
This concept of desire is used in a couple more places→
Psalm 45:10-11 Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear:
Forget your people and your father’s house.
The king is enthralled by your beauty;
honor him, for he is your Lord.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me.
In place of the word loved in that verse, think of passionately desired: The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who passionately desired me and gave himself up for me. Again, do you have any idea how crazy in love God is with you? He has absolutely no obligation to you. Once we’ve sinned, we have broken our covenant relationship with God. He had no obligation to give himself up for you; he didn’t owe it to you. He humiliated and sacrificed himself simply because of his passionate, intense desire for you.
As written in the Song of Songs passage, God’s love for you is characterized by inflexible jealousy. Do you realize that he is jealous for you? He is jealous of your thoughts, your words, your actions, your time, your attention, and your affection. He adamantly wants all of these things, and sometimes when you give them to something or someone else, he fights to stop it. (The entire Old Testament history of Israel is about God’s jealousy when the people loved other things more than him. Every single time they sought God they were blessed, and every time they did not God sought to draw them back to him.)
If we truly understand God’s love for us, we will respond with the same devotion. Jesus tells us to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” He wants you to be with him because he is passionate about you! Our motivation should not be guilt, but love.
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| I don't have bold faith; I have superstitious religion. I believe I have to do certain things or act a certain way for God to love me. I know that his love for me is stronger than his desire to teach me or discipline me. Yet I don't fully trust that he loves me enough to take care of me. I run around in a stressful frenzy everyday trying to get everything done because I'm not sure God has my back. In Matthew 8-9 Jesus heals and restores many people, and he often mentions their faith that has provided the means for their restoration. The difference between their faith and mine is this: I believe God can take care of me; they believe God will take care of them. They have faith that God wants them to be healed, wants to end their suffering. And you know what? They're right. Jesus never refused to help someone who asked. God can take care of me, and he wants to take care of me, because he loves me. This is his promise. This is where my hope should be (Hebrews 10:23). Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere! Loving God is better than good grades, or productive organizations, or even strong relationships. These things are good, and I place much value on them, but I must make God's kingdom and his love first in my life, and these things will be put in their place. I can do nothing significant outside of Christ, so I will wait unswervingly on the Lord. | | |
| God, where are you? Where are your promises? Where is your spirit? Where is your joy? Have you abandoned your children? Why does evil triumph in our lives, and in the lives of our generation? Where is your comfort in the valleys- the valley of death's shadow, the valley of failure, the valley of sickness, the valley of envy and confusion? Why does the enemy loom over us? Where is our shield and our strength? God, I call out to you: O Lord, save me! Save me from myself, save me from the world! I weep over my shortcomings; I mourn with my sister; my soul sighs in anguish with my brothers. God, our souls are dying of thirst for you. God of grace, we need your living water. We need your promises. We need your goodness to satisfy us. We, your children, are desperate for you. Help us, Father. | | |
| I enjoy music. I enjoy listening to it; I enjoy studying it; I enjoy teaching it (in most contexts); I even enjoy trying to manipulate (compose) it. But what I don't like is performing it. Performing is my weak area, as well as my least favorite. Which creates an interesting paradox. Performance is the medium of music. If there were no performances, music would have a pointless existence, if it existed at all. Yet I abhor performing, preparing for performance, and even working to become a performer. There is a huge gap between my love of music and my performing ability. I am unable to perform ANY song that I love. If I love it, it's way above my level. Which is frustrating at times, and futher perpetuates my dispassion for performing. Can anyone make sense of this? | | |
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