Great devotional resources:
|
|
9/29/04
“I belong to my lover, and he desires only me."
Song of Solomon 7:10 (New Century Version)
==========
Francis Thompson (1859-1907) wrote the poem "The Hound of Heaven." Here's the
first stanza:
I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmèd fears,
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbéd pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat—and a Voice beat
More instant than the Feet—
“All things betray thee, who betrayest Me.”
For some, the idea of a God who sees and knows everything they do tends to
engender a sense of paranoia and guilt and dread. They feel as if God is just
waiting to bring the hammer down on their lives at the first misstep. Some
believe that their failure means that God is mad at them and wants nothing to do
with them. This is not the case at all.
Unlike us who too often tend to chase after all things far less godly than we
want to admit, God is insistent about claiming our soul for Himself. His desire
for us is as a lover who longs for His loved one. His interest in us is
beneficent and persistent.
Years ago The Police recorded a song, "Every Breath You Take." The song starts,
"Every breath you take, Every move you make. Every bond you break, Every step
you take, I’ll be watching you." The chorus goes, "Oh, can’t you see, You belong
to me, How my poor heart aches, With every step you take." Every step we take
away from God breaks His heart.
God hovers your life watching not to bring harm to you, but because He loves
you. He desires communion with you. God's heart aches for you to turn to Him. If
you don't, that's your choice, and He will not compel you otherwise. He will,
however, woo you.
He will enable us, through His Holy Spirit, to be drawn to Him. When you feel an
urge to pray, to talk to Him, to seek His face, that is because He is empowering
you to do so. Despite whatever blemish of sin and failure may mark your life, He
desires to bring you healing and fellowship. Every pang of conscience you feel
is evidence of God's heart longing for you to turn to Him and enjoy Him forever.
-- Stephen R. Clark
==========
Stephen (Stephen@StephenRClark.com) resides in Fishers, Indiana and operates
FishersWorship.com and FishersFind.com. He is a professional writer and
communications consultant.
These weekly email devotionals
are provided by FishersWorship.com. The copyright is owned by the author. You
are welcome to use them in your church periodicals or on your church web site as
long as you give complete attribution that mentions both FishersWorship.com as
the source, and that it is copyrighted by the author. For example: "This
devotional is provided courtesy of FishersWorship.com and used by permission.
Copyright (c) 2005 by the AUTHOR. All rights reserved."
Any Fishers, Indiana area pastor, church leader, or other resident may
contribute devotionals for consideration. Go to
www.FishersWorship.com/devotions/default.htm for more information.
Any questions about these devotions or FishersWorship.com should be directed to
Stephen R. Clark, Epiphany Lane Productions, P.O. Box 868, Fishers, Indiana
46038, (317) 435-9673,
info@FishersWorship.com.