02/05/2022
In this modern world we live in today, our daily lives are in a constant state of hurrying about. We slice our time so thinly that even a small variation can throw our entire day into chaos. By doing this we think we are being productive, but are we really? What about our relationships with family, friends, and God? Relationships take time, and those who are in one with us need to see that they are more than just another small slice of our day. Let me ask one question before we begin… How much time each day do we allot to making our families really feel loved, and more importantly, how much do we dedicate to being quiet, and still, with God?
““Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah”
Psalm 46:10-11 ESV
What happens in those quiet times we spend with one another, and God? What do we feel as a baby sleeps softly on our chest and we don’t want to make a sound or move? What do we feel when we hold our spouse close as we watch television together? What occurs when we stand perfectly still for more than a moment holding someone in a long embrace? What do we feel when we look across a crowded room and suddenly find that as we watch our wife, or husband, it is as if we are alone with them, and what happens when we are still and the Holy Spirit moves over us? It is love.
“and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Romans 5:5 ESV
Loving God, or someone in our lives, isn’t what we do, it is what we are. We do not construct love, and we can’t make someone love us, no, we fall in love. That is why we say that we ARE IN love, and it is a true mystery how this occurs. Once we are in true love, both being in love with one another, then nothing we can do will change that…
“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.”
Romans 8:38-39 ESV
If we are honest with ourselves we will find that the quiet, and still times we share with one another are what makes our love grow. If it takes action such as a gift, a special thing to be done for us, or to be in a certain place or time… if it takes any of these things to occur before we can feel or show love… then that is not love at all. We love for the sake of love, and as God loves us.
“We love because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:19 ESV
The gifts and other things we just spoke of are not what love is, but simply the precursor, or product of it. They are the things someone in love wants to do for that person they are in love with, or to relive with them. So love thrives in the quiet and stillness of our being together.
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love;”
Zephaniah 3:17 ESV
For married couples it isn’t the physical act of what we mistakenly call “making love”, but in what lies within those moments of giving ourselves, and in the repose, holding one another close, and feeling that bond of our love as we drift softly, and sweetly, off to sleep together. There is no price that can buy us love, and it is not bartered for, earned, or otherwise the product of tit for tat actions. Love simply is… it is a gift of God.
Being still in the presence of God… it is more than quietly listening, it is allowing the love, and relationship we have with Him to grow. It is living out our lives within the gift He has given us.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your gift of love, and how it sings the loudest when we are quiet, and still. Help us Father to be still before you as we should, and to not fetter our love and relationship with the chains of time. Let our love serve no master, and be unbridled in your presence. Teach us of love, and lead us to love our spouses, and others around us as we should. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who has given us your love to bring peace, quiet, and stillness into our lives. Praised be your name for all of the quiet moments, and times of stilled hush, when love reaches its crescendo in our lives. Merciful are you for loving us so much that you sent your Son Jesus to be born, suffer, die, and be resurrected for us. Great share you for the amazing grace you have poured over us; a gift like love that has no price. Wash us in the blood of Jesus, and lead us through him in righteousness… do so that we might be worthy in your eyes, and given eternity with you in Heaven. Let us walk there with you and Jesus, not in haste, but at a slow stroll… loving you, and enjoying your love for us.
“For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.”
Isaiah 52:12 ESV
Rich Forbes