Happy Monday!!
I found another amazing passage and thought on love that was given in my devotional from the book of Isaiah.
These first 6 paraphrases were all taken from that devotional:
In this passage, the way he did this was by speaking to them about Godâs love for them. He spoke of Godâs compassion (49:10â13), and he used five analogies for Godâs love:
Shepherd
God loves you as a shepherd loves his sheep. God, as the shepherd of Israel, will lead his people back out of exile. In his love, he will make even obstacles serve his purpose (v.11). Jesus picks up this picture of the good shepherd and applies it to himself (John 10:3â15).
Mother
Godâs love for you is greater than any motherâs love for their child. âCan a mother forget the infant at her breast, walk away from the baby she bore? But even if mothers forget, Iâd never forget you â neverâ (Isaiah 49:15, MSG).
Engraver
The Lord says, âI have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of My handsâ (v.16, AMP). The Babylonians used tattoos to remind them of the person they loved. Godâs love and commitment to you is demonstrated by his engraving of you on the palms of his hands.
Conqueror
Godâs love is like a conqueror (vv.25â26). He is strong enough to carry out his purposes for you and to fight against those who oppress you (v.25).
Husband
The people were saying God had divorced them because of their sins. God replies that although it was their weakness and their sin that caused the exile, God is able to restore them. He has not divorced them or sold them into slavery (50:1). No one is too far out of Godâs reach. He is married to his people. His love for you is greater than the greatest love between a husband and a wife.
I have been working on a song that has some of the sentiments written in this passage here today. Itâs funny how God uses our everyday living to inspire new words and melodies, for some songs take more time, even years of life to be written.
I like thinking of our Heavenly Father as a good shepherd. He is looking after us and even leaves the 99 and goes after the one. For, we can trust the perspective that when weâre with Him, we are never left alone. Then, Heâs a mother, someone nurturing, caring, tender, compassionate, helpful and loving, just to name some of the attributes we give mothers. He is all of them and so much more. Next He is an engraver. This one intrigues me the most. This brings me to a passage.
You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenantânot of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
-2 Corinthians 3:2-6 NIV
I love this passage so much. The Spirit of the living God writes on the tablets of human hearts. Thatâs YOUâthatâs ME, YIPPEE. đ
What a thought to be imprinted on the palms of Jesusâ hands! Those nail scared hands bleed for us, and that blood sanctified us too.
Next, Heâs our conqueror, not only over our daily lives, but over our hearts. HE IS fighting our battles yâall, more than we will ever know until we meet face to face in eternity. Jesus conquered the grave!! I mean, what better example is there than that one?
Lastly, He is our husband. You may ask, how can he be both mother and husband? He is a triune God with every capacity and attribute fathomable to meet our every need.
Husband has been the one Iâve probably experienced the most over the past six years. He has felt closer than a brother, and even at times a lover. The nearness of His presence has felt intimate, closer than I have ever felt it before, especially in times of great need. The Scripture says, âHe is close to the brokenhearted.â Thatâs not just a thought or a feeling, but a full body experience. Itâs like a rush in my chest that sometimes makes me cry, for He brings a release that causes my nervous system to relax and subside. That rush of sensation can be overwhelming at times, but itâs also therapeutic in the process of releasing all my heavy feelings. Grief comes in waves, they say, and I have to say they surely do.
So, when the wave comes, try and allow (embrace) it, even when it feels hard and maybe uncomfortable. Then, wave it goodbye with tears in your eyes. đđź
Grief isnât meant to be like mud that you get stuck in. Itâs more like a waveâeasy it comes and easy itâs able to go when you lean into the practice of release.
To practice a posture of release, letâs end this monthâs blogs of daily widow walking with a song, for this one today went a little heavier than expected. So, weâll end it with worship, for worship lifts heaviness every single time.
Dancing On the Waves
We the Kingdom by Bethel
Until next time,
Keep gliding đŞ
Abiding đđźââď¸
& Smiling đ