Looking for Love

Have you ever wrestled with the thought of what it would be like to be unconditionally loved? Is that not the pursuit of every human being, to be loved completely?

If you don’t mind, I am going to quote a song by Audio Adrenaline from over 20 years ago, entitled “Who Do You Love?”

“Love love love
Thats what the world
And the people are in search of
Lovey dovey turtle dovey
Everybody's looking for that warm fuzzy”

The premise stated is the world and the people are in search of love. However they think the “love dovey turtle dove” and “warm fuzzy” is what love is. As long as the excitement, the thrill and the feelings are there then it must be love.

How sad our culture has become that love has been cheapened to represent a particular set of emotions and lacks the true depth of commitment and perseverance.  Even as I turned on the radio today I heard the comedian Kevin Hart making jokes about his divorce. The light hearted nature in which our society has treated the marriage covenant and the ease of divorce has shattered the expectations of finding the one relationship that is to be “for better or worse, in sickness and in death, till death do us part.”

The endless fear of rejection, the worry of “if they find out who I really am,” the anxiety of being alone all cause so much stress that people retreat into a mask. Open up the Instagram ap on your phone and take a look at what you see. People trying to make themselves look the way they want you to perceive them, but not the way things really are.

When society, media, celebrities, music, and movies become the source of defining true love and relationships, all become focused on personal happiness, the elusive feelings of being accepted and constant fears of being rejected, and the relationships are destined for failure. Yet God has not left us alone to figure out what love is.

Reflect on Psalm 139.

Kind David states it much more eloquently then I could ever hope to, so please take time to read it, slowly, meditatively and ask God to help you understand it. Yet I’d like to summarize briefly a few things.

God created you specifically, intimately and on purpose. God loves you and knows you better than you know yourself. You are wonderfully and beautifully made. No where you go and nothing you do can separate you from God’s presence and His love (Romans 8:38-39). Through the toughest of times, God is there. In the best of times, God is there. You are inexplicitly, unconditionally loved by God.

To take it further, Read Romans 5:8: God demonstrated His love in this, while we were still sinning against Him, running from Him and rebelling, Jesus died for us (paraphrased). Now that is unconditional love.

How would you feel if you knew someone loved you unconditionally? That would be so amazing! I’m an introvert by nature. I question everything in my head, way to much! Every interaction I have, I evaluate in my mind what that person thinks of me. I walk away sometimes sure of my conclusion that they don’t really love me, accept me or want me to be around. I’ve learned that self doubt is based on lies, fears and anxieties. Psalm 139 has been a huge help for me in my insecurities. But I’ve had to learn to shut off the conversation in my head at times. Yet when I know someone loves me, has my back and cares for me, it allows me to break out of my introverted shell and be myself. Yet when I’m not sure where I stand, I withdraw and hide.

Unconditional love allows freedom. We do not have to hide from God, He already knows your worst and still loves you. You cannot fool God by wearing a mask. The Good News is…you don’t have to! Jesus loves you so much that He died for you and offers a real relationship with the Father that is unconditional.

No matter where you run, no matter what sins you commit, no matter how dark your night seems to be, God’s love is greater, bigger and brighter. It is unconditional and it is free, but not cheap! In order for Him to tell you how much He loves you, Jesus had to die, BUT He rose again.

Right now you may not know the forgiveness of Jesus, the extent of the love of God. But you can! Admit that you are a sinner, which you cannot earn your way to God. Believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Trust that Jesus unconditionally loves you and accept His free offer of a relationship with Him. Talk to Him and tell Him what you believe.

You might believe in Jesus but are stuck in a sin. You have been trying to prove yourself, or pursue love in all the wrong places. Jesus wants to forgive you right now. Turn to Him and tell Him. He will never turn you away.

You are loved more than you could ever imagine, despite your sin and mess-ups. God knows you, loves you and invites you into an intimate, unconditional love relationship with Him.

What are you thirsty for?

When you are really hungry or thirsty, what do you crave? What do you long for when your appetites rage?

I find it interesting that when I run, I crave water and fresh berries; blackberries and raspberries to be precise. Nothing sounds better in those moments, and it is such a healthy snack to turn to, it satisfies me and energizes me.

On the flip side, when I am being pretty lazy and sitting around I crave Mountain Dew and brownies, I can’t seem to get enough of them. These don’t satisfy, they taste great but leave me feeling yucky (super spiritual term there) and yet I want more. Hmmm I guess my body is telling me something.

In those moments of hunger and thirst, that desire, that craving you have should be a parable of your souls thirst. Your soul is desperately thirsty, craving something to satisfy, desiring happiness; it’s an appetite, but your feeding it spiritual Mountain Dew and brownies. It tastes so good in the moment, but leaves you with a sugar crash, a bloated feeling and a gross sense of wanting more.

Jesus knows that our soul thirsts for happiness. After all, He made us to desire happiness. That’s why He told us how to get it:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6)

He is not saying, “those who are good enough get to be happy!” He is saying that when you desire to be “in a right relationship with Him” you find happiness. Your desire is to be the way you were intended to be. You were designed to be in an intimate relationship with your Creator, but sin has separated you from God. In Christ Jesus there is reconciliation, forgiveness and restored intimacy.

When you learn to crave that right standing with God, you will find your soul satisfaction. Your soul is sick of the cheap imitations, the over sugared empty spiritual calories. It wants true spiritual substance, it longs for the Living Water only provided by Jesus.

Jesus tells us in John 15 how we can draw from Him, by building a friendship with Him. We draw from the Living Waters by spending time with Him everyday.

Consider your best friends. How did they become your best friends? What sets them apart from others?

Common interests, shared affection and time. The more time you spend with your friends the more you act like, think like and talk like them. That is the way you were wired. You are thirsty for relationships and as you drink of them they change you. Depending on who you choose to be your friends will determine whether this is good or bad.

When you choose to, desire to, make Jesus your best friend you will look like, talk like and act like Jesus. Not because you are trying to, but because of your proximity to Him.

Read Psalm 1:1-3

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.”

You see what the promise is there? He turns from the desires of this world and thirsts for God’s Word, for the Living Waters. The results are growing fruit and health.

That’s Jesus promise to you. If you want a truly happy life, seek to be with Jesus. Make Him your best friend and watch as He does a work in and through you. The more time you spend with Him, the more you become the way you were intended to be.

You maybe stuck seeking happiness in the cheap things of life. You might be thinking it is found in the latest fashion, the thin waste line, the big muscles, in a boyfriend or girlfriend, the forbidden fruit, the pornography, the video games, the sports, the highest grade, the right college, and the list goes on. None of these will satisfy you.

Jesus satisfies! Set up camp by the stream of Living Water, drink deeply and never thirst again.

***DISCLAIMER: It is not easy. It’s a daily fight. The Living Waters are offered freely, but they demand everything. Jesus loves you the way you are, but He loves you too much to leave you the way you are. If you are truly in a relationship with Him and drinking from the Living Waters you will be changed. You won’t regret it. It produces joy unspeakable, but change will happen.***

The Desert

Have you ever been to the desert? The vast, dry and wide wilderness?

There is a type of thirst that you can only experience in the desert. When you are detached from the city life, when you are far away from the gas stations and the city water, where the earth and the sky seem to go on forever and you have no idea where the next water source might be. There is a desperation thirst that is different when you are thirsty but you know that the water fountain is around the corner. The wilderness reveals your very dependence upon water and your thirst is magnified.

Consider what the David said about his thirst for God in Psalm 63:1, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

David was a man that was accustomed to the desert. He had raised sheep in the desert, he had delivered food in the desert, he defeated Goliath in the desert and he hid from Saul in the desert. He knew the thirst that the desert brings. It is desert thirst that he describes his desire for God is like.

I’ve been to the desert wilderness that David was in, the Negev. In southern Israel, we went for a hike up Masada, the desert fortress of Herod the Great. Some great history there, but that is another post. The day I went happened to be one of only two days that they do not run the tram to the top. We arrived at 6AM to climb the “snake” path, a winding path up the side of the mountain. We had to leave early before the heat of the day arrived. In early spring it was a chilly 50 something degrees in the morning, requiring a light jacket. As we climbed, so did the sun and the desert heat with it. By mid morning it was already in the 90’s and super dry. We had only made it half way up the climb and I was parched. My throat was dry, my lips felt like they were cracking and I was out of breath. Even as I sipped my water bottle, which was warm, I felt like I couldn’t get enough water.

The climb was tiring but amazing. The sites were great and I will remember them forever. However, the large ice water and berry smoothie at the café after was so delightful. My thirst was from only hours in the desert, but David’s was from days, months and even years of desert living. He knew that the only thing in this life that would satisfy his soul was to drink from the Living Waters of Jesus Christ.

The desert has a way of changing us. When we are aware of the vastness and limited resources we are humbled into realizing how frail life really is. Gone are the overwhelming cravings for the superficial 1^st World wants and our desires turn to the basic needs. Those who have been there and experienced desert thirst can only understand the joy and satisfaction that comes from fresh, cold and crisp water in the desert.

The people of Israel experienced the desert in their wanderings. Moses led them out to the wilderness to hear from God. At first they were in awe of the spectacle of the mountain with a burning bush, but the emptiness and harshness of the wilderness soon took its effect on them. They became desperate for the comforts of Egypt. They lost site on what God was doing and wanted out. However they had 40 years of desert living before they were ready for the promises God had for them. Yet God never forgot them and He supplied all their needs along the way.

Similarly Jesus spent time in the wilderness. After his baptism, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for a 40 day fast. This was the same Negev type wilderness described above. Freezing cold at night and extremely hot during the day. Alone, hungry and exhausted, Jesus was tempted by the enemy of our souls. The desert is a defining place, and Jesus demonstrated our way of surviving the desert. As He depended upon the Spirit, He used Scripture to overcome temptations and defeat the enemy.

As hungry as He was, He refused the temporary relief for eternal satisfaction. His physical and emotional fatigue were overcome with the Word of God. He stood toe to toe with Satan and won through the power of God’s Word.

We too are in a desert. Our souls are desperately thirsty, whether you recognize it or not. You may not feel like your in a desert right now, or you might feel like you have been wandering for a long time. One thing remains true, your soul thirsts for Living Waters. When you begin to realize that Jesus Christ provides the soul satisfaction you are desperate for, you will leave behind the desert and enter in His rest.

Drink deeply of the Word of God and rest in the Spirit. Allow Him to wash you and restore you through His Word. Allow the desert place to define you, to reveal to you that you can be refreshed only by Christ and put off the cravings of the flesh. Do as David did, acknowledge your thirst for God and He will quench your thirst.

Thirsty?

In the last couple of years I have decided to start doing something I never imagined I would do. I actually would make fun of people who did it, thinking it was absurd. Running. In High School, I said I wouldn’t run unless I was chasing a ball in soccer or basketball. When the new craze of 5K, 13.1 and 26.2 stickers came out, I wanted to get a 0.0 sticker. But then I supported my friend running in an 80K Ultra Marathon, that’s 50 miles!! I saw all sorts of people running and I felt lazy.

I decided to commit to running the Akron Half Marathon and gave myself 9 months to prepare. Long story short, I have run two half marathons and am planning to keep on running.

One thing that became very apparent early on was the need to increase my water intake. I used to run without planning for water breaks. But when it is a hot summer day and you are 6 miles into an 8 mile run, you are craving water. It’s hard to describe, but your mouth seems to have lost all moisture and your saliva gets really thick. Your throat gets dry and it almost feels like are you are dying!

Then the end comes and you can grab your drink and it is like “salvation is here!!! Be refreshed!” It’s a great feeling. Soon I learned to drink lots of water before I begin, have water along the way, and finish with water. Staying hydrated leads to more energy, endurance and faster recovery.

What we may not realize is that spiritually we are running a marathon. Our souls are thirsty and we don’t realize it. Our soul is dried up and craving something refreshing, but we keep on pouring things on that never satisfy.

Jesus wants us to come to Him, to drink of the Living waters and find satisfaction for our soul. We need to stop seeking to satisfy ourselves with substitutes and come to Jesus for the real thing. We find that in His Word, Jesus will meet our souls longing.

We need to recognize our thirst as a soul thirst. We need to see that we need to drink of Christ before, during and after our race. Spending time in God’s Word, in prayer and with God’s people is how we drink of the living waters. Consider what Isaiah said in chapter 55:1-3:

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. ² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. ³ Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live.”