Love, one of the most beautiful things that God has given us, seemed so easy at first.
The simplicity of two hearts as one, the contentment and fulfillment of finding another who seems to understand us as we are, and the eloquently scripted happy ending that rolled with the credits.
Reality has set in.
Terribly messy, forceful, bruised, and bent are the hearts of too many.
So quickly we uproot our fragile hearts from the soil of seeds that Christ is sowing with diligence within us. Messily we shake off our dirt, polish our outside to the utmost, and set it in places that cannot keep us or cannot support us. We set our hearts upon shaky surface, cracking beneath, parched for the living God. Unknowingly relinquishing our hope and trust in the One who desires to protect us, love shakes our souls to believe that the empty seat next to us is to be filled with haste. Shaken to the core, we shrug off the pull back into the soil and reshape a new hardened shrunken heart dulled and nicked on the edges.
"Love" was a thought floating through my mind, a song rushing through the airwaves, a beautiful idea pressing my heart to feel. Moving through the chambers of the heart, this "love" rushes through and empties itself as quickly as it begins. I began to see this idea was merely the silhouette of what I have spent my whole life searching for. Love is more than spoken words in a scripted song, a hello in passing that causes your heart to skip, but the majestic sonnet of Jesus who deeply desires for our whole hearts. I have found myself awestruck by the truth that the true love I desire is encased within the heart of my Savior.
I have come to see that feelings do not always carry the significance we believe them to. Casting Crowns sings, "I can't live by what I feel, but by the Truth Your word reveals." Truth reveals to us that we need to be protected from our feelings. Carrying this into my mind, I begin to understand just how misled the heart can be. I do not believe every feeling for another is God-inspired for we live in the flesh and Romans 7 reminds us we are constantly battling between the Spirit and the flesh. Feelings are not the enemy but I am coming to see that if we let our feelings dictate our actions instead of relying on the guidance of Christ first, we will be misled. We push aside the peace of Christ in favor of our own weak walls that soon come crumbling down.
Song of Solomon 8:6-7 says,
"Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is as strong as death,
jealousy as fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
the very flame of the Lord.
Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it..."
Love spilled out His own blood so that I may live.
Love strapped my guilt and shame to His back so that I may be free.
Love laid down His love to demonstrate His devotion and faithfulness.
This is a testament to the fierce love of Christ for the Church, also thought to reflect the type of love to be at the center of a marriage centered in Christ.
We must live giving room for the Shepherd to guide us patiently through the storms ahead.
We cannot truly live without His leading especially in the matters of the heart which are too easily given.
God, we all need this patience to still our own anxious hearts. We need Your presence to silence the world to lift our heads and open our ears to the beauty of Truth filling the air and radiating such a light that stirs in us a heart to love and trust.
Our hearts are bound to You first.
All things flow directly out of our relationship with You including the area of dating and relationships.
Hosea 2:19-20 says, "I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord."
Loving Him is taking Him at His word.
It is believing beyond a shadow of a doubt that He is using your surrendered heart to accomplish His Kingdom purposes here and now. It means placing the most precious heart He has given You and allowing Him to guard it continually until the timing is right.
You are betrothed to Christ.
You deserve somebody one day who will love and treasure you with similar devotion. Placing Your heart in His tender hands will unveil a beauty and fire within you that will radiate into this world and compel you to trust and seek Him more. In time, His plan for you will be unveiled.
"I lean not on my own understanding. My life is in the hands of the maker of Heaven. I will climb this mountain with my hands wide open...I am so in love with You, there is no one else for me..."
{United Pursuit Band} (Proverbs 3:5-6)
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