Thoughts From Day 13

“We are invited to be His partners in the sacred dance of His love for us and ours for Him: fallen flesh cleansed by Holy Blood, created spirits enlightened and enlivened by the Holy Spirit, physical bodies strengthened and empowered by His new life within. If we learn the Holy dance, our awareness of God’s love for us grows in tandem with our love for Him."    

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Our Lord and Savior has made coming to God in prayer as simple as breathing. The only requirement is that we believe in Jesus Christ; we have only to accept His cleansing blood to enter the Holy presence of God.

In light of such a mind-boggling gift, what keeps us from running to His arms?

Many times, some grievous loss spurs us to indulge the flesh in a desperate attempt to numb the pain of sorrow.  The unacknowledged reasoning behind such self-destructive behavior is that, like angry children, we want to punish the Lord for allowing us such pain. But always, the only true balm for heartache lies in the arms of the One who allowed the hurtful blows to fall. That He hurts but also heals is a paradox, and one that we must struggle against again and again; we don't understand our Lord's ways and out of fear or anger we turn our backs on Him.

Have a look at Hosea 6:1-2:  “Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence."

In what is almost certainly a Messianic reference, we are reminded that our restoration is in the One who died for us and was restored to life on the third day.

"We have a Savior who understands the struggles we face because He encountered the same struggles as a human being, and yet did not sin. By taking our sin upon Himself, He has made a way for our repeated failures to be woven into the tapestry of His success." 

When we feel like avoiding the Lord because of some hurt He has allowed us, let's remember how Jesus came for us, and that while we were yet sinners, He died for us (Romans 5:8).  Let's remember that He suffered more than we will ever suffer, but did not sin (Hebrews 4:15).  And let's allow love to be rekindled in our hearts for a Savior such as this, so that we can come to God without reservation, and be restored again.