Over the past few weeks I've found myself returning to a song in my itunes library over and over again. It is "How He Loves" sung by the David Crowder Band from the Passion: Awakening recording.
He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am the tree bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy. When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, and I realize just how beautiful You are and how great Your affections are for me. And oh, how He loves us oh, Oh how He loves us, How He loves us all."
So often, the word jealous carries a negative connotation, but how wonderful to know that the Sovereign God of the universe is intimately jealous for me. His love runs so deep that He is willing to do anything to be in relationship with me. In my humanness, I cannot even begin to wrap my head around the depth of His love towards me.
As I was reading Scripture related to this, I came across Hosea 11:8a where I read "How can I give you up Ephraim? How can I hand you over Israel?" Within the context of this passage, God is dealing with the rebellious nation that so deserves to be cut loose. Yet He is jealous for the nation of Israel and wants them to walk into and remain in a loving relationship with Him.
I then proceeded to do a little exercise. I replaced the word "Ephraim" with "Tim" so it just simply read "How can I give you up Tim?" That little exercise moved me greatly and helped me understand a little bit more this week that there is a jealous God pursuing me and He refuses to give up doing so.
The next time you begin to wonder whether or not the God of the universe even wants to be in relationship with you, just simply remind yourself that God is jealous for you and repeat the words of Hosea 11:8a and add your name to it.
1 comment:
Tim, this song has been a #1 play on my ipod for some time now.. Although, I listen to the John Mark McMillan version.. (he's the writer of it, before Crowder made it popular..) and I'm always driven to tears to think of how he loves us in spite of all the times we choose to nail him up again and again.. For those of us who have a rough time forgiving ourselves and who live in guilt of past regrets, this song is the very truth of Christ that shines in on the lies of Satan..
"as far as the east is from the west, he has removed our transgressions from us."
and from my favorite, Romans 8 says
"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
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