Our Bible verse for today: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3 (CSB)
Our thought for today: “Don’t miss the romance”
How happy are you with your life? How content are you with the state of your relationship with God? Down deep do you sense that you were made for more than this?
You were, and you know it.
In 1997 John Eldredge and Brent Curtis published a book that changed the spiritual landscape for untold numbers of Christians. Like Henry Blackaby’s Bible study, “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God”, and Richard Foster’s classic work “The Celebration of Discipline”, this book by Eldredge and Curtis provided insight and understanding about a deep relationship with God that became a game-changer for many of us.
The title of the book was “The Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God”. In the book Eldredge and Curtis describe God as “The Great Romancer”. God is a lover at heart and His relationship with His people is one of an eternal romance – with God taking the lead. He calls to us and He woos us. He is always working to draw us to Himself and then, once we come to Him, He overwhelms us with His great love for us.
The true story of your life is the journey of your heart into a deep love relationship with God. The deeper and stronger that relationship is the more satisfied and content you will be. The weaker, more distant, and more superficial your relationship with God is the less content you will be – there will be something missing in you at a very deep level and as a result nothing in this life will truly satisfy you.
This is where most of us are missing the boat in life. We’re looking for love in all the wrong places. We’re seeking fulfillment and satisfaction from the things of this world when in truth the only thing that will meet our deepest need is a rich love relationship with our Father in heaven.
Sabbath-rest helps us with this. Sabbath-rest (rest with a spiritual objective) places us in a position whereby God can have access to our full mind and heart. As we have learned this month, Sabbath-rest can and should include things like playing and recreation and celebration, but the primary and most important element is quiet time with God. This is the stuff of Psalm 46:10.
The Great Romancer, the One who loves you more than you can know, is calling to you. He is saying “Come and spend time with Me.” I encourage you to respond to the call.
Oak Hill Baptist Church