September 13, 2018
You Are Worth Pursuing
Sharon Jaynes
Today’s Truth
My lover spoke and said to me, “Arise my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me (Song of Songs 2:10 NIV).
Friend to Friend
I was in college when I first eyed my husband. He was sitting on the floor at a friend’s Bible study gathering with his back against the wall, dressed in scruffy jeans and a red flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up his muscular forearms.
His thick brown hair and chocolate-brown eyes left me weak in the knees. And the best part was that this handsome hunk of a man had a tattered Bible in his lap. He laughed easily, prayed humbly and read intently. I was smitten from the first time I laid eyes on Steve.
After a few weeks, he finally asked me out on a date. We continued seeing each other over the next several weeks. One night, Steve asked me to a college football game, and I agreed to go. Then he said, “Can I just ask you? Will you go with me to all of the football games for the rest of the year?”
“I’m not going to answer that question,” I replied. “You’ll just have to ask me each week.”
Looking back on those early days, what I was really saying was that I wanted to be pursued. None of this blanket invitation for the entire fall business. I wanted to be wooed and won. Even though he had me the moment I saw him sitting on the shag carpet floor, I didn’t want him to know that. I wanted him to show me I was worth putting forth the effort to capture my heart. Isn’t that the desire of every woman’s heart?
And nobody does it better than God. Every day He proves that you are worth it!
In God’s all-out pursuit of my heart, of your heart, He sings through a child’s voice, speaks through a bird’s call, shouts through the claps of thunder and calls out through the rising sun.
What is the key to experiencing God’s passionate pursuit? It’s simple really. We must recognize and acknowledge His presence as we live and move and have our being in Him. Acts 17:28 must be more than a nice Bible verse; it must become a way of life.
When it does, sudden glory moments will fill our lives and take our breath away. It is a divine romance of the purest kind.
Let’s Pray
Dear Lord, I swoon thinking of how You pursue me. Help me to recognize Your love notes throughout the day. I am my Beloved’s and He is mine.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Today, consider reading the story of the Samaritan woman whom Jesus met at the well (John 4:1-26,39-42). Look at the great lengths He went to in pursuing her heart.
Remember, this was a time in history when men did not speak to women in public.
Jews did not enter Samaria. Women were not allowed to study under a rabbi’s teaching.
And here’s another tidbit. This was the first person whom Jesus told that He was the Messiah. A woman!
More from the Girlfriends
Sometimes we just make our faith journey way too hard and complicated…when it doesn’t need to be. A relationship with God isn’t about what He wants from us, but what He wants for us: life to the full. In Sharon’s book, A Sudden Glory: God’s Lavish Response to Your Ache for Something More, she shows you how to erase the line between the secular and the sacred so that all of life becomes an act of worship…so you can recognize God’s presence right in the middle of your busy, messy day. Moments of sudden glory, when we experience His presence, are for all who open their eyes to see.
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