Being in love is a wonderful thing.
We’ve all seen teenage couples who think they’re in love. They’re cute. And they’re becoming aware of an entire range and type of emotions that they never knew they were capable of. It’s exciting territory to explore.
There are, of course, some deep waters that need to be navigated properly; for the emotions love raises are powerful. It requires the development of self-discipline, wisdom and a determination to protect and cherish the one you love. As it happens, those are the very characteristics that will be needed for a life-long love to flourish and a marriage to survive.
Today’s verse is about a love of incredible worth —
DO WHAT THE LORD WANTS AND HE WILL GIVE YOU YOUR HEART’S DESIRE
Perhaps you’ve looked at young couples and thought to yourself, “Oh, they are SO in love.” And, to an extent, you could be right. But I believe they only THINK they are in love, because love is one of those things that is so deep and mystical that is takes a while to get to the point where you’re able to discern it.
One of the inescapable aspects of puberty is the introduction of hormones that cloud the mind and impact judgement. It’s at this stage that lust is easily and often confused for love. In the process of building men, both as a parent and a discipler, I’ve found that learning to properly manage sexual desires and impulses is a critical skill; and one that benefits from a trusted mentor. The scriptures bear it out, and it is true of both genders.
Working as a waiter or a waitress requires the carrying of hot plates to customers. Over time, waitstaff often build up a sort of tolerance, and are able to carry meals on plates that would be far too hot for most of us to carry at all. It is not a skill, really, as much as it is a loss of function in the nerves of the hand. As a result of the constant burning, over time the hand simply loses its sensitivity. Its capacity to sense and process sensory input is significantly diminished.
God designed sexual intimacy to be enjoyed within specific parameters, by a man and a woman who have entered into the covenant of a marriage relationship. When people choose to engage in sexual relations outside of His designed structure, they are inflicting damage on their capacity to feel the things that God has intended to be felt and enjoyed in a covenantal marriage relationship. Multiple sexual partners inflict a loss of function in this area as surely a hot plates do. Your heart simply loses its ability to feel the full range of intimate sensitivity.
The sad truth is that sex is either a wonderful servant or a tyrannical master.
DO WHAT THE LORD WANTS AND HE WILL GIVE YOU YOUR HEART’S DESIRE
I can think of nothing in life that brings more joy and fulfillment than the ability to love deeply, fully and well.
Even the truest of loves has its seasons and moments. This is the case with spouses, the closest of friends, and even of our relationship with God. Our capacity for emotion is more like the tides of the ocean than it is like a river.
Some mornings I wake up and don’t feel like praying. (Wait WHAT!! The BISHOP sometimes doesn’t feel like praying ???? Sometimes.) Of course, I do pray; and I am glad in the end that I did. A defining element of a mature relationship is that it is driven more by covenant and commitment than it is driven by emotion. Love is a verb. Loving is displayed in what we DO, not by how we say we feel. This is the power of covenant.
There are other mornings, like this one for instance, where I cannot wait to come to my study so I can begin to worship and pray. I wake up long before my alarm, come into my study, drop to my knees and His Spirit washes over me. It is a wonderful gift to enjoy feelings of incredible intimacy and closeness with Christ. I cherish those moments when the guitar plays and words fail me; when the presence of Christ is overwhelming and a spiritually-driven love song pours out in words even I cannot fathom. The power of His presence is palpable. Precious moments, to be sure.
And yet His word is the same, whether my capacity of perception makes it feel like He is seated next to me or a million miles away. The truth of our covenant does not change. The truth of His love for me is constant. His invitation to follow Him is always open, to participate in what He is doing.
And as I DO what the Lord wants, He continues to pour Himself into me. He gives grace upon grace, and increases the capacity for my love. He enables me to love the Lord my God with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my strength and with all my mind; and even to love my neighbor as myself.
As I DO what the Lord wants, I come to know that the Lord my God IS God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments. In that knowledge I can begin to see and understand more fully what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. Adopted into the most powerful royal family that has ever existed.
As I DO what the Lord wants, as I gain greater and greater understanding of Him and the love He has poured out upon me, He changes my heart. He gives me HIS DESIRES within MY HEART so that I begin to love what He loves more and more. His love impacts my prayers, and directs their focus. And so the scripture is fulfilled twice. First, He gives me my heart’s desire by actually giving me the proper things to desire. Second, He answers the desires He has placed in my heart by answering the prayers I speak.
Because I have allowed Him to mold and shape me and my heart’s desires, the very things for which I pray now advance His Kingdom and bring greater glory to His name.
Have you ever noticed when young folks are in love, it seems that all they talk about is the one they love? Every conversational point can be turned to describe something they did, something they said, or some hope or dream they share. It’s enough to make you observe, “Oh, they are SO in love!!!”
I want to have that vibrant and exciting a relationship with the God of the Universe. To have everyone who sees me think of Him. To find a way to bring Him in to every conversation. To have His joy be my focus; His glory be my goal. I want His love to be the underlying foundation of all I say, all I do.
I am SO IN LOVE !!!!! His love is one of those things that is so deep and mystical that it takes a while to get to the point where you’re able to discern it. It gets better and better every day, and I love loving Him.
I am SO IN LOVE !!!!
And you can be too!
DO WHAT THE LORD WANTS AND HE WILL GIVE YOU YOUR HEART’S DESIRE
