God is love.  That is the essence of who God is.  He functions completely out of the vein of love toward each of us.  I know you already know that.  But let me share how this truth has been awakened in me in a fresh new way over the last month or so.

For the first time in my Christian walk over the last 38 years, I have been led by God to become an intercessor for a particular individual I know on a limited basis since mid-March, and I have been praying for this individual and their family on a daily basis without fail.  It has been a complete joy and privilege to be able to pray for this family in their professional work as well as their personal life.  Don’t ask me why I started to pray for them.  I can only tell you that a desire was deeply planted in my heart for no apparent reason.  I can only conclude that God has a special anointing on this family, and I have the privilege of partnering with God by undergirding them in prayer for whatever God is going to accomplish through them.  Though this individual knows that I am praying daily for them, they also know that they are not obligated to give me feedback, nor am I looking for applause as God gets the glory.

But here’s the dynamic going on.  If you have never experienced this, the natural by-product of praying for a family that you care about that you know on a limited basis is that your love for the people you are praying for just grows, which increases your curiosity as to how God is moving in their lives, which increases your desire to get to know them, which causes you to want to pursue a relationship with them to get to know them better.  Does this sound weird to you?  I attended a retreat back in August, and I shared this dynamic of a love that grows for the family I am praying for because it wasn’t feeling “normal” to me.  I needed a sounding board in case I was having “issues” around this!  (Heal thyself, counselor).  This pastor listened to me rationalize why I was praying for this family, and he kindly suggested that I quit rationalizing it so that it would make sense for my psyche.  He said, “What is happening is found in Rom 5:5, which says, ‘God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.’” Thus, what I am experiencing is “normal” (Praise The Lord!).  He also affirmed the joy that goes with this prayer ministry, and it is something I look forward to doing every day.  Only God knows why.

I decided to reach out to this individual by offering friendship to discern if God was wanting to accomplish more through a friendship, and what I discovered was a lack of interest because it would take time away from their own family or current friends.  Since I know this individual on a limited basis, their lack of interest was fine, but it hasn’t changed the love I feel for them.  So what do you do with this love?  As I have been pondering this, a light bulb turned on, and it occurred to me that this must be how God feels, who deeply loves us, when he pursues a love relationship with us, but we just stiff-arm Him and connect with Him when it fits our schedule, or (fill in the blank).  His heart must hurt when we show disinterest for whatever excuses we give.  Yet, our lack of interest doesn’t phase the depth of His love for us.  He is always pursuing you and me because of how much He loves us, and I wonder how long we are going to either run the other direction, or continue to keep Him at a distance.  I can’t think of a more stable and unconditional love relationship than with God Himself as His love never fails.   As I finish bending your ear, I am sitting here eternally grateful that “God is love” and out of His deep love for me never gives up pursuing me.  My prayer is that I would embrace Him fully and enjoy the love relationship He offers me.

Blessings,

Lee Ann