And I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they will be My people and I will be their God, for they will return to me with their whole heart. ~ Jeremiah 24:7
When there are days when the promise is all your hope is clinging to, remember that you have been heard and seen and loved by One who has not failed to keep all His precious promises. (Luke 1:37)
When there are moments the rain feels like it is drowning you and you have forgotten how to swim, remember that you have been rescued by One who has already won the victory. (1 John 5:4)
When you are feeling lost and abandoned to the circumstance, remember that there is One who came specifically to save the lost. (Matthew 18:11)
When your heart is breaking and you feel there is no room to rejoice, remember that is where He will make His habitation within you and in His presence there is fullness of Joy.(Psalm 16:11)
This morning as the rain is falling I find a sense of peace in watching it. He is reminding me of these promises of hope and restoration each time I look to His Word and find the life giving power that we are meant to see, the melody of joy we are meant to hear, and the echo of peace we are meant to feel. These are the harvest fruits of abiding in the Holy, awaiting all those who come to the well of life to partake of what He has for us. He doesn’t withhold Himself, on the contrary, it is us who are holding back … and we are losing out when we do.
Once in a while the flood-gates need to open so that our heart can be emptied of the idols we hold inside. We think, in the moments of despair, that we are lost and we are failing but that is an untruth. He came to save that which was lost, and He won’t let go.
{Do you realize the power of the grip of grace?}
Grace is like a resin that coats the wearer till it seeps silently and steadily into every crevice. It doesn’t miss a single indentation. Once it is settled, it is nearly impossible to remove.
It makes me think of the resin my bees gather from the blood of the trees which they apply to the hive to keep it together. I love how God shows us illustration after illustration of what eternal this covenant of peace he makes with us is meant to be. He has a hesed love for us. It is a kindness that is eternal and unending. It is a love covenant.
Hesed is a Hebrew word used throughout the Old Testament when God wanted to reveal the loyal, persistent, tender, unconditional, covenant of love and relationship between God and those who are united to Him in faith. ( Hos 2:18, Isaiah 54:5, Jeremiah 31:32)
I love this quote from Vine’s Commentary on the implication of this Word in scripture, “Hesed implies personal involvement and commitment in a relationship beyond the rule of law.”
Hesed is love interacting with strength and steadfast commitment that does not yield to the whims of life that often blow us around. It is strong like the hardest resin which cements one part to the other for good, … Like the grace that seals us in His firm unmoving grip.
Sometimes we need to realize that while there may be moments of quiet silence and contemplation, yet we are not alone.
Jeremiah tells us that we will be given a heart to KNOW. We will be given the ability to understand, perceive, recognize and be acquainted with God. What a profound statement of faith; that we, the creation would be able to understand the Creator. We will know that HE is GOD. He speaks a language that is fully understood by our hearts. Though we can’t know all of God, because of his elevation and unending nature, we can understand that HE is God and longs to fill our hearts with His compassionate fullness.
Don’t be afraid, God is doing heart surgery.
He will initiate the tender process of reconstructive surgery, rebuilding your heart by planting His truth inside. Nestled into the arteries and the deep tissue of the life beating organ which nourishes our living, it will flourish and produce abundantly. Without the flow of blood pumped into the veins bringing life-giving oxygen to our bodies we will die.
{Why then do we forget that without the source of His Zoe-breath of love, hesed love, we can’t adequately traverse this journey?}
We need the oxygen-rich blood that is exerted from a fully functional heart, and we need a Heart Surgeon who can fully repair our broken pumps by a touch of His hand.
He is calling us to return to Him and be His. Fully covered in the sticky residue of grace’s trail upon our living. Let that be the attractive force that lures you to His side, basking in the beauty of hesed love.
Praying you will allow the Great Physician to heal the heart that beats within you and feel the change take over, restoring you to a wholeness which only comes as we are covered by grace.
~Blessings,
Linking up with:
Holley @ Coffee for your heart
Jennifer @ #TellHisStory
Rebekah @ Words of Life Wednesdays
Stopping by from Word of Life Wedneday- “I look to His Word and find the life giving power that we are meant to see, the melody of joy we are meant to hear, and the echo of peace we are meant to feel.” Love this, great reminder about the gifts He daily provides. You should link-up up with meredithbernard.com too, she is doing a series on grace.:)
What a beautiful message!
This was truly beautiful. I’m so grateful I stopped in. I loved this >>> “Once in a while the flood-gates need to open so that our heart can be emptied of the idols we hold inside. We think, in the moments of despair, that we are lost and we are failing but that is an untruth. He came to save that which was lost, and He won’t let go.” So true. Blessings to you.