You
know that feeling when you hear a sermon or read a book or blog and you think
“This was spoken/written just for me… God’s words spoken directly to my
heart”? That has been happening to me over and over again. I picked up a book
our contacts let us borrow called Compelled by Love, by Heidi Baker. She
is head of Iris Ministries, which is who both of our ministries from this month
and last month have been connected with. Learn more about Iris; they began in
1995 in Mozambique with a couple dollars and two people, Heidi and Rolland
Baker, who made themselves completely open and available to the Holy Spirit.
Anyway
I figured since this month has been about falling in love with Jesus I could
read a book about being compelled by His love. It’s about how to change the
world through the simple power of love in action. I learned so much and on the
last page I was just like “Okay, God you are good and this is why You had me
read this book.” So here is the amazing love letter written to me and for you
from the lover of our souls.
“I
know you through and through–I know everything about you. The very hairs of
your head I have numbered. Nothing in your life is unimportant to Me. I have
followed you through the years, and I have always loved you–even in your
wanderings.
I
know every one of your problems. I know your need and your worries. And yes, I
know all your sins. But I tell you again that I love you–not for what you have
or haven’t done–I love you for you, for the beauty and dignity My Father gave
you by creating you in His own image.
It
is a dignity you have often forgotten, a beauty you have tarnished by sin. But
I love you as you are, and I have shed My blood to win you back. If you only
ask Me with faith, my grace will touch all that needs changing in your life. I
will give you the strength to free yourself from sin and all its destructive
power.
I
know what is in your heart–I know your loneliness and all your hurts–the
rejections, the judgments, the humiliations. I carried it all before you. And I
carried it all for you, so you might share My strength and victory. I know
especially your need for love–how you are thirsting to be loved and cherished.
But how often have you thirsted in vain, seeking that love selfishly, striving
to fill the emptiness inside you with passing pleasures–and ending with even
more pain. Do you thirst for love? “Come to Me all you who thirst” (John 7:37).
I will satisfy you and fill you. Do you thirst to be cherished? I cherish you
more than you can imagine to the point of dying on a cross for you.
I
thirst for you. Yes, that is the only way to even begin to describe my love for
you: I thirst for you. I thirst to love and to be loved by you–that is how
precious you are to Me. I thirst for you. Come to Me, and I will fill your heart
and heal your wounds.
If
you feel unimportant in the eyes of the world, that matters not at all. For Me,
there is no one any more important in the entire world than you. I thirst for
you. Open to Me, come to Me, thirst for Me, give Me your life–and I will prove
to you how important you are to My heart.
No
matter how far you may wander, no matter how often you forget Me, no matter how
many crosses you may bear in this life, there is one thing I want you to
remember always, one thing that will never change: I thirst for you–just as
you are. You don’t need to change to believe in My love, for it will be your
belief in My love that will change you. You forget Me, and yet I am seeking you
every moment of the day–standing at the door of your heart, and knocking.
Do
you find this hard to believe? Then look at the cross; look at My heart that
was pierced for you. Have you not understood My cross? Then listen again to the
words I spoke there–for they tell you clearly why I endured all this for you:
“I thirst” (John 19:28). Yes, I thirst for you.
All
your life I have been looking for your love–I have never stopped seeking to
love and be loved by you. You have tried many other things in your search for
happiness; why not try opening your heart to Me, right now, more than you ever
have before.
Whenever
you do open the door of your heart, whenever you come close enough, again, not
in mere human words but in spirit: No matter what you have done, I love you for
your own sake. Come to Me with your misery and your sins, with your troubles
and needs, and with all your longing to be loved. I stand at the door of your
heart and knock… Open to Me for I thirst for you.” [Mother Teresa, sheesh she’s one good
writer!]
Wow…
I just read this for the first time 30 minutes ago… and I still have
goosebumps. Read it a couple more times. Mother Teresa was one good writer!
I
am in awe of how God speaks. How He shows His love over and over again. I can’t
wait to read this letter over and over again.
The
same God who created the universe thirsts for ME and for you! He loves us soooo
much and will NEVER stop pursuing us! No matter what we do! He will always want
to go deeper with us! How good and tender is that!
