It was Friday night the 25th of August, 2023.
We were having our monthly time of worship in the tent.
Our blue and yellow tent can fit around 80-100 people, but tonight there were about a dozen of us.
The Presence of God was thicker than usual. We sang songs of worship to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and prayed to Him according to what was on our hearts.
A Scripture from Ephesians was read out: Ephesians 3:16-19 with a focus, a leaning, towards the love of God. That we be established is God’s love and have a greater understanding of this phenomenon.
Also, ‘pent up flood’ was spoken about with the belief that God is getting ready to pour His Spirit out.
This lines up with the global increase in a desire to pray and seek God’s face. Especially with the World Prayer Assembly, to be held in Perth, WA, Australia, only five weeks away.
People are joining together locally and online, to pray for a ‘Wave of glory’ to be poured out over the Great Southlands of the Holy Spirit.
We have also seen an increasing number of people attending our local combined churches prayer meetings.
It would seem that God is up to something.
And we want to be ready to join Him in His mission.
I believe that God spoke again on this night.
He gave a message about a wall.
It felt a bit cryptic, but we continued to press into God through corporate prayer and worship.
I wanted to know what this meant.
As I searched through the Scriptures… as I continued to pray and worship, I believe God directed me to Song of Songs.
There we find passionate talk of desirous love between a man and a woman. And also talk of a wall.
I’m not going to go much further with this discourse other than to say what I believe God was saying at our worship night.
The love between this man and woman in Song of Songs shows us (I believe) a picture of God’s plan for marriage, but also (and especially in this context) God’s deep love for us, His children. This is not necessarily a comfortable picture for us in Western culture, but I believe it to be so.
We are also told of a group of women who are worried about the young adolescent girl being a wall (SoS 8v8-9).
In this, I believe God has a message for us.
He wants us to know that no matter what other people think of us, and no matter what we think of ourselves, God desires relationship with us.
Not because of our perfection, but simply because of His desire for us as His precious creation. We are created in His image and He desires to be in deep relationship with us.
It really is that simple.
Read John 3:16-17.
Yes. It really is that simple.
We too often look in the mirror, to others, to the opinion of the masses, to online thinking for our acceptance and for what we need to be like to be loved.
Our shape, our personality, our language, our friends, our beliefs, our opinions…
We let these and more define us and inform us if we are lovable or if we deserve to be loved.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
You, me, we…
… are loved by God.
And not as the world promotes love. Not a casual love. Not a flippant love. And not a lustful love.
A passionate and jealous love (SoS 8:6).
Such is God’s love for us.
And this love creates in us a safety, a security and a feeling that we are almost invincible.
Once we understand just how much Father God loves us, we can do anything.
Why do I believe this?
I believe this because a person who is unconditionally loved is not waiting to know if they are good enough. They are not waiting for anyone’s approval. They are not waiting for the opinion of others.
They live an abundant life because they know that they are loved.
Do you know this love?
More to the point, do know this God of love?
No person can give you this love.
No possession can give you this love.
No amount of money can buy you this love.
But you can be loved like this.
Loved by Almighty God in this way.
How?
Well, any question about God can be answered through the Bible.
The Bible says:
9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. – Romans 10:9-10 [NLT].
Activate your heart and your mind.
And allow yourself to be transformed by the love of God.
Don’t worry. You’ll still be you. And if you allow God to love you with the passion that I’ve mentioned above, you’ll become the best version of you.
You’ll become who you were created to be.
You are loved.
Let that sink in.
You
Are
Loved
God be with you.
Ben
