My husband and I have been married for eleven years. One part of my husband's personality that I absolutely love is that he highly values alone time with me. I love it that we spend so much quality time together.
Because he highly values this time, he can also be very jealous of my time. He has a really hard time sharing me with other people or other things. If I choose to spend my time doing other things, especially if we haven't had much time together, I can almost feel him longing to have time with me, time when he doesn't have to share me with anyone or anything else.
The other night, God indicated my husband's jealousy to me. It was like when one of the kids is doing something cute and I indicate them to my husband with a little nod of the head in their direction. My husband wasn't even in the room, but I still felt the Holy Spirit indicate him as though he was. I could feel and almost even see His Spirit indicate it.
He showed me that this part of my husband's personality, his jealous longing, is a picture of how God jealously longs for us.
He longs for us. Amazing!
While we are busy checking off our to-do lists and spending hours on social media (my personal weakness), he is longing for us to spend time with Him. To put down all of our tasks and things we fill our day with and choose Him. He longs for a deeper and closer relationship with us. He wants us to make ourselves known to Him, and He desires to reveal Himself to us. This is not something for us to feel guilty of for not doing. Sometimes when I haven't spent time with Him I almost avoid Him because I feel guilty for not taking the time I should have. This is not an accurate picture of who God is. If I have not spent time with my husband, will I avoid him out of guilt? Of course not. I will go to him, because the truth is, if I haven't spent time with my husband, I long for him, too. Have you been neglecting time with God? He is not waiting to condemn you; He is longing for you.
He says: "Come away with Me! I know you have things you must do. I know that you have responsibilities in your life. I give you time to do those things. Come. Away. Give Me time, and I will help you with your daily tasks. Choose ME! Choose to be filled with Me and My Spirit, and I will release in you a strength and a power to accomplish My will, a strength and power that you have not known. You can do all things through Christ. Through Me. Let Me be the wind in your sails. Allow Me to move in your life, more so than you have allowed up to this point. Give me access to the deepest parts of you. Have I ever shown Myself unfaithful? Have I ever spoken and failed to fulfill? I am Yahweh. I created the heavens and the earth, and all that is within it. I am not a man that I should lie. I am for you, and I desire to move within you and upon your life this day, if you will but carve out this time to be filled by My Spirit and Presence. I jealously long to fill up your empty places. Come away with me, beloved! Choose Me. Deep down, you desire My Presence and filling. In the same way, I long to be in your presence. I have loved you with an everlasting love, and I long to draw you to Myself."
God, forgive us of our busyness! Of our insatiable desire for more. More things. More money. More time. More (or better) relationships. May the only true cry of our hearts be for more of You! Forgive us for attempting to fill our cups with things that do not satisfy. For neglecting to come to You. For leaning on our understanding. For trusting in our strength. Strength that was always meant to come from You. May we never cease to come to You with our emptiness. Fill us up, Lord, as only You can!
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I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.
--Jeremiah 31:3b
This is what the LORD Almighty says: "I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her."
--Zechariah 8:2
"They have made Me jealous with what is not God."
--Deuteronomy 32:21a
"Cease striving and know that I am God."
--Psalm 46:10a
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
--Philippians 4:13 (emphasis added)
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
--1 Corinthians 2:12-13
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jealous.
adjective.
5. solicitous or vigilant in maintaining or guarding something: God is jealous for our affections.
long.
verb.
to have an earnest or strong desire or craving; yearn: God longs to know us and make Himself known.
cease.
verb.
1. to stop; discontinue: Cease striving and know that I am God.
striving.
verb.
1. to exert oneself vigorously; try hard: She strove to make herself worthy, beautiful, and desirable.
2. to make strenuous efforts toward any goal: to strive for success
{Definitions found at
dictionary.com, though I obviously changed several of the example sentences}
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