“I will rise now and go about the city, in the streets and in the squares; I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not” (Song 3:2).
In our youth, love awakens. This is as it is supposed to be. But while we allow romantic love to rest and dream until the proper time of its awakening, we can always arouse a passionate love for God. Awakening love for God is accomplished in the same manner that we’d awaken natural romantic love, but with a different focus.
Our first step in awakening love for God is to realize and acknowledge His love for us.
“Indeed, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you” (Jer. 31:3).
Even though our behavior was unattractive and repulsive, God pressed near and whispered in our ears, “I love you.” Allow the weight of this truth to sink into your heart!
The second step in awakening passion for God is to respond to His advances. We move beyond the acknowledgment of His love for us by choosing to pursue Him in return. We turn our faces toward Him so that we might know as we are known. But how do we respond to one we cannot see?
“The invisible things about Him—His eternal power and deity—have been clearly seen since the creation of the world and are understood by the things that are made … ” (Rom. 1:20, emphasis added).
Let’s lift our eyes from the small world of self and take a fresh look around us. If we do this, we will stand in new wonder at the splendor of the creation looming all around, for now we are not just creatures moving about on the face of the earth. The realization of His love changes all that. It will become personal: we are His and He is ours. Each new day will be seen as a gift. We will receive every good thing as from His hand, and we will take it all in and hold it close to our hearts.
Does this sound like your relationship with God? Or is it something you’ve felt was always out of reach? God’s heart is to reveal His love for you in a way that makes you feel safe and secure in Him.
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you His love today in a deeply unique and personal way. Open up your heart and allow Him to reveal Himself to you as you seek Him. Search for the one your heart loves. He never disappoints!
Adapted from Kissed the Girls and Made Them Cry: Why Women Lose When They Give In (Thomas Nelson, 2002) by Lisa Bevere.
