Oh! (part 2)

Instead of giving you that extended quote I said I would give you at the end of my last post, I'm just going to let you know where you can find it for yourself. It is from a book by Rick Joyner entitled, THE CALL, which is the second book in the FINAL QUEST trilogy, one of the most incredible prophetic experiences I've ever come across. But this blog is not about quoting others (though I may still do that from time to time) - it is about finding my own voice and seeking to express what is developing within my own heart. So here are some more thoughts on that little word, "oh", which I wrote of previously.

As I already said, "oh" is a word that communicates emotion, and the context determines exactly what emotion is being expressed. In the context that this word was given, the emotion that I sense coming through is one of great longing and desire, and the specific desire is that we have a determination, a resolve - "do not fail to press ahead, do not fail to follow hard after Me!"

We are taught the importance of putting ourselves in someone else's shoes, so to speak, to understand them better. Shouldn't we do that with God? We know that He is personal, but we so often don't treat Him that way. He really does have emotions! And they aren't just the nice, positive ones. He feels sadness, pain and anger, as well as joy and happiness, He has all the emotions of someone in love, passionately in love, and therefore feels all the pain that a rejected lover feels. Just feel the pathos and emotion in these words of the LORD (YHWH) spoken through His prophet Hosea:

" Oh Ephraim, what more can I do with you? Oh Judah, what more can I do with you? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears . . ." (Hosea 6:4)

Don't you think that the more we can tap into and appreciate the depth of God's feelings for us, the more motivated we would be to please Him and want to make Him happy instead of sad? That is certainly true in our human relationships. I used to have a terrible habit that extremely offended someone very close to me. I would try to rationalize and justify this habit because I didn't want to give it up. But when I finally realized how much it hurt this individual I loved, the resolve to kick that habit increased dramatically and gave me the willpower to put an end to that behavior.

There is no one in this universe who I would like to please more, and who I would hate to offend, than my Creator and Redeemer. To know that He is cheering me on in my struggles - that He in fact knows how hard it will be for me to stay close to Him, to draw nearer - this knowledge goes a long way to helping my resolve to stay the course in my pursuit after Him.

Oh, but why is it so hard! Have you reflected on that? Why is it so easy to lose one's "first love"?
Ah yes, that first love. I tasted of that briefly at the human level, but I actually don't think I've ever experienced that with God. In fact, I would say that this has been my life-long quest - to have a genuine, deep-rooted passionate love for my God. But the haunting question still remains. When I do, finally, achieve and experience a passionate love for God, will I be able to maintain it, or will I too, like the first century church and so many others who have experienced revival and awakenings, slowly lose the fire and slip back into nominal, lukewarm faith? I suspect that this is one reason that God has made it so difficult to draw near to Him. Because He is in fact the single greatest treasure in the Universe, worthy of every effort, of every sacrifice, He is not going to let us "discover" or "acquire" Him too cheaply or easily. The harder it is to achieve or acquire something, the more we will value it and do all we can to make sure we will never lose it. I love this thought of Rick Joyner's, a profound prophetic statement - that when the first man and woman were placed in an ideal environment, Satan could boast that he was more attractive than God. But before this age ends, God will have men and women who, in the worst possible of environments, will turn their backs on the enemy's enticements and will finally, be a faithful and obedient bride who, as it says in Revelation, will have "made herself ready" for her marriage day. I don't know about you, but I long to be a part of that reality. And I know that it's not going to come about easily or automatically, just because we are Christians. There really is a danger of losing the reward of being an overcomer. Join me in being determined, in resolving, to NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP!