Current mood: 
Last night I had a great time with friends hanging out at the Waffle House in the wee hours of the morning. Though the hour was early, when I arrived back home, I had the urgent desire and strength to finish the book enjoying God by S.J. Hill. God really used the book to speak directly to me all throughout my many months reading it; early this morning was no exception. I plan on giving the book to a friend, but before I do so, I wanted to leave you with a few parts that continue to resonate to me ...
Søren Kierkegaard tells the story of a king who fell in love with a humble maiden. "The king was like no other king," writes Philip Yancey, paraphrasing the tale:
Every statesman trembled before his power. No one dared breathe a word against him, for he had the strength to crush all opponents. And yet this mighty king was melted by love for a humble maiden.
How could he declare his love for her? In an odd sort of way, his kingliness tied his hands. If he brought her to the palace and crowned her head with jewels and clothed her body in royal robes, she would surely not resist --- no one dared resist him. But would she love him?
She would say she loved him, of course, but would she truly? Or would she live with him in fear, nursing a private grief for the life she had left behind? Would she be happy at his side? How could he know?
If he rode to her forest cottage in his royal carriage, with an armed escort waving bright banners, that too would overwhelm her. He did not want a cringing subject. He wanted a lover, an equal. He wanted her to forget that he was a king and she was a humble maiden and to let shared love cross the gulf between them.
Kiekegaard concluded, "It is only in love that the unequal can be made equal."
In analyzing this story, John Eldredge writes, "The king clothes himself as a beggar and renounces his throne in order to win her hand."
When God created man, He created him with the freedom of choice. There was a reason why He did this. In order for the true romance to occur, man had to be free to reject Him. ... He (God) created us to love him ...
God is looking for a relationship with His people that mirrors the perfect marriage. He wants lovers who will submit to Him from their hearts. He desires a people that are driven by love, rather than by outward form or ritual. He longs for a lovesick bride. He is looking for those who will keep themselves unstained by the world and will save themselves for Him.
Why is purity so important to God? ... There is something within the nature of God that burns with jealousy for the undivided love and affection of His people. He is a consuming fire of passion who will not tolerate anyone or anything coming between Him and His bride. Deuteronomy 4:24 confirms this truth when it says, "For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God." ... Holy jealousy is an intense passion to protect a love relationship that's priceless and to avenge it when it's fractured. God's holy anger at any threat to this relationship is in direct proportion to the burning fire of His love. He will not tolerate any rivals in His relationship with His people.
The radical call to holiness is really an invitation to let the beauty and sweetness of Jesus so fill our hearts and minds that the seductive pleasures of sin will be swallowed up in the holy satisfaction of His presence.
The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or if he is allowed them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness. Or if he must see them go, one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss, for having the Source of all things he has in One all satisfaction, all pleasure, all delight. Whatever he may lose he has actually lost nothing, for he now has it all in One, and he has it purely, legitimately and forever.
There will be times when the Lord will lift the sense of His presence from our lives in order to communicate various truths to our hearts. He may use such times to humble us by making us award of our need for Him. He may also use such occasions to alert us to some specific problems in our hearts. He may even remove the sense of His presence from us just to awaken in us a deeper hunger for Him. Regardless of the reason, the results will be well worth it. As He did with the bride in the Song of Solomon, He will allow us to find Him in a passionate new way. ... St. John of the Cross called this season of the life "the dark night of the soul."
Remember, God answers the cry of the hungry. He will never bypass the one who refuses to be denied the deeper things of His heart. I recently spoke with a woman who was experiencing her dark night. She felt spiritually barren and a million miles from God. I asked her, "What is in your heart? What do you really want?" Tears began rolling down her cheeks. She looked at me and said, "In my heart, I want God more now than I ever have."
Do you realize what the Father was doing? He was using the difficult times she was going through to draw her closer to Him. We hate the feeling of barrenness. We hate the struggles. We want to give birth to the purposes of God, but we don't like going through the birthing process. We believe we can't persist without feeling inspired, so we're tempted to give up and retreat into what we've always known. But we need to realize that those who are close to the Father today started out this very same way.
Keep drawing near to the Father in faith, believing that He will eventually reward you. Remember, faith is the issue, not feelings of inspiration. Put yourself in a position where the Holy Spirit can produce a deeper hunger in your heart. Although you can't produce passion, He will honor your posture of seeking Him and create the hunger in you. The promise in James 4:8 that God will draw near to those who draw near to Him will give you all the hope you need to persevere in your quest for intimacy with Him.
melancholy