A True Love Story.

 

Hosea 2: 14-20

The LORD's Mercy on Israel

 ¹⁴ “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
   and bring her into the wilderness,
   and speak tenderly to her.
¹⁵ And there I will give her her vineyards
   and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth,
   as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. ¹⁶ “And in that day, declares the LORD, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ ¹⁷ For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. ¹⁸ And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish^[f] the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. ¹⁹ And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. ²⁰I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD."

You know those Christian ladies,

that always seem to be in intimate relationship with God?

I love those ladies.

One of those wonderful ladies shared this passage with me today.

& I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

Isn't it wonderful to know that we are Christ's Beloved?

That He is consistently pursuing us,

& desires to draw us near to Him?

I have always wished that this awareness

 would become a more consistent part of my life.

I have come to desire this even more than usual lately.

It has happened to me before,

where I have felt how much joy, peace, and all around goodness,

that intimate relationship with God brings when it comes.

It's always so fun for me to see & hear about

all the different kinds of moments that God uses

in different peoples lives and experiences to show this...

For me,

it's always in the car.

I was driving down the road the other day,

jammin' out to my favorite radio station,

& a song came on,

'Beloved' by Tenth Avenue North.

When that song came on,

I was instantaneously & overwhelmingly reminded

about the truth of God's love for me,

and it filled me with ABSOLUTE joy.

I love it when that happens!

& it is because of these occurrences,

in combination with what I know to be true of God's character,

and true of His promises,

that I have really been praying

God would make it a reality,

for me to walk in intimacy with Him daily.

This passage also helped me to understand,

that getting to that place,

means letting go of all of my 'Baal's', or other 'gods',

things I make more ultimate than God Himself.

This, for me,

is anything ranging from the security I find in

my relationship with my boyfriend.

friendships.

spending and having money.

success in school.

general habits & things I like to keep around,

to ensure that my life is as 'comfortable' as possible.

the list goes on & on!

I'm not gonna lie.

Accomplishing this is straight up tough on a girl,

& not to mention impossible without God's help.

Letting go of these things can be pretty nerve racking!

But gals,

it is so worth it.

I am going to post the lyrics to that song Beloved below...

for my musical mind,

this song is a beautiful interpretation of this whole concept

& it really helps me to put it into a perspective that I can grasp.

& remember.

I'll leave you with a challenge-

I know I have primarily addressed women in this post,

that is probably because I am one ;)

but this applies to you too men!

If you have never experienced what I've shared about,

or aren't currently experiencing it daily,

seek it out for yourself, 

& I can confidently promise that you won't be disappointed!

Beloved - Tenth Avenue North

Love of My life
Look deep in My eyes
There you will find what you need
Give Me your life
The lust and the lies
The past you're afraid I might see
You've been running away from Me

Love of My life
Look deep in My eyes
There you will find what you need
I'm the Giver of life
I'll clothe you in white
My immaculate bride you will be
Oh, come running home to Me

Well, you've been a mistress, My wife
Chasing lovers that won't satisfy
Won't you let Me make you My bride
You will drink of My lips 

And you'll taste new life

You're My beloved
Lover I'm yours
Death shall not part us
It's you I died for
For better or worse
Forever we'll be
My Love it unites us
And it binds you to Me
It's a mystery