Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus. I love you Jesus. I have been blind to You for so long. I have missed Your Beauty all around me. I have missed Your love notes lavishly placed all around me day in and day out, calling me to see You. I didn't praise you then, but I praise You now. You are Holy. You are Worthy. You are the Lion and the Lamb. You are my All in All. The Lover of my soul. My Savior, My Friend, My Bridegroom, the Author and Finisher of my Faith. You are Truth. You are Righteousness. You are Meek. Holy. The Desire of my heart.
If all I can do for the rest of my life is to Worship You and Trust in You,
then I will die in peace.
There are times and seasons in life Jesus seems to be elusive from us. "We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return." (Lindbergh) Sometimes we feel abandoned by Him or that He is silent in our life. You can ask the Lord to blow His breath on the embers of our heart and revive your desires.
Ask God - What do YOU (Jesus) desire? What do You want to do together, with me?
It's easy to dream for others, but what do you dream for yourself?
It's easy to dream for others, but what do you dream for yourself?
To the man or woman that God enjoys and delights in at every moment, what are your dreams? Allow God to access that place in your heart where you have dreams, He put those longings and dreams into our hearts to begin with. It tells you about who you are and who He is. It is okay to want more that He has to offer. Wanting more isn't the result of being dissatisfied, but it's simply agreeing with God for the more that He has for us. There's always more healing, more goodness, more life that God wants for us. Consider telling the Lord in prayer that you want to recognize His love for you. If you feel distant from the Lord or that He seems to have vanished from your life, you are not alone. There are countless examples in scripture where the Lord was hard to recognize by those He loved.
In John 20 we see such a moment:
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb
In John 20 we see such a moment:
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb
12 And saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
In ONE WORD, Jesus opens her eyes:
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means "Teacher").
17 Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Mary Magdalene was one who was very close to Jesus, and desired to be with Him and to worship Him. She was searching for Him - and He stood in front of her and in her distress and longing for Him, she was unable to recognize Him.
Ask the Lord to call your name...to open your eyes to show you where He is. Consider getting a journal and set aside Holy Time where you can write down the question asking where He was when you have been in times of distress and where He is now. Pray until you receive His voice, or a vision, or an understanding of where He was (or is). And if nothing comes, don't give up asking. Ask what is keeping you from recognizing Him now. As Jesus asked Mary, ponder that He too is asking you, "Why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
When you listen to this song, I want you to imagine that his words are your words and this is your song to the Lord.
My Confession
by
Josh Groban
