Today’s Reading: Jeremiah 1; Jeremiah 2; John 10
Scripture: Jeremiah 2:2, 19
2 "...'I remember the devotion of your youth,
how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the desert,
through a land not sown...'"
19 "...Consider then and realize
how evil and bitter it is for you
when you forsake the LORD your God
and have no awe of me,"
declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.
Observation: Verse 2 touches my heart. It reminds me of the passionate reality of relationship that I have at times experiences with my Lord. It sparks a wistfulness within me, for at this moment my relationship with Jesus is real but not in that fresh and vibrant state. The contrast between verse 2 and verse 19 is stark -- from a young bride in the blush of new love, to an "evil and bitter" person who has long ago strayed and left the passion far behind.
Application: Both extremes are a potential reality but most people live somewhere in the middle. That's where I am at this moment. I have not forsaken Jesus -- I have merely become distracted from the simple joys of His love. But I hear the voice of my Lover calling me back to those moments of intimacy and freshness. How can I get back to that place?
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me. I want to be close with You -- intimate, passionate, head over heels crazy about You. Forgive me for allowing the stuff of life to distract me. I have been focused on the wrong things. Help me to turn my gaze to You -- to fix my eyes upon You -- to live and dream and dwell in the present moment with You -- to take thoughts of You with me and have them always at the forefront of my mind. Lord, I love You. Help me to keep the fires of passion burning in my heart.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
1 comment:
I love your honesty and openness. We've all been there at times. Right now I am in the place of feeling very intimate with God. I'm praying for you because I've seen the frustration in you of wanting to be there. I know you've prayed for me many times when you've been in that place and I haven't been. That's the beauty of close relationship; we can lift each other up as needed. Thank you for being there for me and being a strong spiritual man when I've needed one. I see you as that now, just not as intimate with Jesus as you'd like to be and my prayer is that I will be able to help you as you have helped me so often.
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