What is your
passion? What thrills and captivates your heart? What runs through your mind first
thing when you wake each morning….the last thing you think about before you go to sleep at night?
Your answer to these questions will greatly identify
your pursuit. And, consequently, it will reveal the direction your life is headed. Whatever
has your attention is also what will eventually have your affection. The thing that we pursue (whether
by our thoughts and desires, or perhaps also accompanied by real actions) is what we are devoted to.
The word pursue means to “follow in order to
overtake, capture, to chase; to continue with, to try to find, get, or win; to strive for, seek after; devote oneself to.”
Your affections are a very
precious and sacred gift from God – and should be lovingly cherished and guarded as you would a precious and priceless
treasure. Your affections are the door to your heart, your innermost being. That is
why the Word of God is so very clear on the subject – “Keep and guard your heart (your affections) with all vigilance
and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4.23)
Colossians 3.1-2 says, “If then you
were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the Right Hand of God.
Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth.”
One thing is sure, our affections belong upon God. After all, who could be more
deserving of these precious, sacred pourings of our hearts than the One Who first poured out His all, for the sake of Love,
for you and me?
I
have found that when we become affectioned toward someone or something, we will seek to give into that life or that thing.
In I Chronicles 29.3 – David said, “Moreover, because I have set my affection on the House
of my God, I have given to the House of my God….”
The fact of life is that there will always be a burning desire
to give into whatever has become the object of one’s affection.
I believe that there
burns a desire within every person for intimacy. At the same time it is also evident that many do not really
know where that intimacy can reach its fulfillment. The full truth of the matter is that we can only realize
total and complete satisfaction in intimacy with our God. There is no substitute!
“Let us hear the conclusion of the
whole matter:Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.” –
Ecclesiastes 12.13
The sum total of Life is intimately
knowing God.
Ecclesiastes 12.13 in the
Amplified reinforces the truth even further – “All has been heard; the end of the matter is: Fear God [revere
and worship Him, knowing that He is] and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man [the full, original purpose of
his creation, the object of God’s providence, the root of character, the foundation of all happiness, the adjustment
to all inharmonious circumstances and conditions under the sun] and the whole [duty] for every man.”
Seeing that intimately knowing God is what life is
really all about, let’s re-evaluate the previously mentioned questions –
What
is your passion? What thrills and captivates your heart?
What runs through your mind
first thing in the morning….the last thing at night?
Our answer without any hesitation should be GOD Himself.
Maybe we have failed to really hold Him in our thoughts as much as we could….maybe
from to time to time we have allowed someone or something else to steal our affections…
But we don’t have to stay that way. Every moment is a fresh chance to give ourselves –
in love – to Him. What bliss when we seize each such glorious opportunity!
I believe that for the most
part, we have not fully realized just how much in love with each of us as individuals God really is.
Love is a very powerful force. When
you realize that someone is very desperately in love with you, something takes place on the inside and everything within you
begins yearning to love them and be with them. Well it is the same thing with God, only multiplied in intensity
many times over.
Often, we are inclined to think of God in a certain mindset that falls so short of who He really is. Yes,
He is Almighty God, Yes He is Sovereign – and although we must always honour and treat Him with reverence at all times
(because that is what “Fearing Him” is ) – we also must not deny Him the opportunity to reveal Himself
to us as the One He longs most for us to know – LOVE unveiled.
He is desperately in love with you and He desires
to draw you into His Most Holy Intimacy.
In the same way that a husband and wife can open and lay bare their very hearts and souls to one
another, as can be done with no one else….that is the relationship our God yearns to have with
us. And it is in that place of intimacy that every prayer is answered, every desire is fulfilled,
and all things are possible. When this is what you seek, you will not only experience His intimacy
– but also His ecstasy – to its most extreme expression.
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with loving kindness
I have drawn you.” –Jeremiah 31.3
I remember the first time I really grasped the depth of Jesus’ love and affection for me on an intimate
level. Oh, I knew that He loved me very much in order to die for me. Yet I had never before sensed how
HE felt toward me.
The image that dropped into my heart is that of a young prince who in his youth becomes betrothed to a
baby princess. Years go by and he watches her grow and mature. When he becomes an adult, she is still a
little girl – but with each passing year, his love for her grows deeper and deeper.
One day, she is all grown up and very beautiful.
But she has not shared the same love for him as he has for her. She has been preoccupied and rent her heart
in affections for other things, never even stopping long enough to notice his glance. His heart burns desperately
for her, and she doesn’t even know it. One day, she finds herself in trouble and runs to him for help. As
she pours out her heart and experiences his tender compassion, her eyes are then open. Looking into his
face, she sees what she had never seen before – a love that had remained faithful and committed to her alone –
even when she had been unfaithful to him.
(I Cor. 11.2 / Hosea 2.19-20 / Isa. 54.5 / Ezekiel 16.5-8)
That is the Love that burns in God’s heart
for you. Even when we have not yearned for Him, He never stops desperately seeking us. Day
and night the one He is thinking about and dreaming about is you.
He holds you in His heart and in His mind at all times. (Ps. 139.17/Ps. 40.17)
He has awesome things prepared for us beyond anything we have dreamed. But we can only receive them
as we get to know Him. He has already been seeking and wooing us – and as we grasp the depth of His
awesome love, we must in love turn and give Him our complete affection.
He is right there waiting to receive us into His embrace.
When we draw near to Him, He WILL draw near to us. (James 4.8)
You were destined to know Him
INTIMATELY!
“You must worship no other gods, but only the Lord, for
He is a God who is passionate about His relationship with you.” – Exodus
34.14
Copyright ©April
2006
Sharah LaGail Wyatt / First Love Ministries International
P O Box 163974
Ft Worth, TX 76161 / www.ps27fr.org
All Rights Reserved.
