Worship
“Falling in Love” by Phil Wickham
Scripture
“You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you. Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come with me from Lebanon. Depart from the peak of Amana, from the peak of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards. You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice! Your lips drip nectar, my bride; honey and milk are under your tongue; the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. A garden locked is my sister, my bride, a spring locked, a fountain sealed. Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates with all choicest fruits, henna with nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all choice spices— a garden fountain, a well of living water, and flowing streams from Lebanon.” -Song of Solomon 4:7-15 (ESV)
Learning About God’s Love
One day during my freshman year at Westmont College, I so wanted to write a book on love. I sat down, and I think I got a page written on my word processor. I don’t even know if I really, deeply, truly knew love, but I was hungry to understand it and share it. I wanted to put words to something that I was beginning to discover as Jesus was doing a new thing in my life. It was in the context of college and my best friend, Kel, that I was learning to become secure in the reality that Jesus really loved me. Relationships can do that. Then eight months later I found my Mike.
Do you remember a time when you fell in love? Do you remember the excitement and euphoria; the bliss and wonder? I wanted nothing but to be with Mike at every waking moment. He would call, and my heart would race at the sound of his voice. After we got married, I think I forgot all of my friends as I just wanted and needed only to be with him. Our new love was so sweet and tender and full of new life. And five months later, so was my womb!
There are times I awaken and my heart gets overwhelmed with this deep, deep expression of love for the Lord. Sometimes it overwhelms me because the feeling is so strong. I have learned that this is His love coming to me first, and I am responding. I love those mornings. All I know to say to Him is, “Oh, I love You so much.” When I read the above passage, I sense the invitation of Jesus right now for His Bride. He has this longing deep in Him as the words of Jesus to you are: “With one flash of your eyes I am undone by your love, my beloved, my equal, my bride. You leave me breathless—I am overcome by merely a glance from your worshiping eyes, for you have stolen my heart. I am held hostage by your love (Song of Songs 4:9).”
God’s View of His People
You are His beloved, and if you could only see the look He gives you. I like to say, “He’s always in a good mood!” But when He sees His beloved, the truth of the matter is you make His heart skip a beat. He’s undone by your love for Him. He can’t wait till you awaken to Him and have your first thoughts be of Him. He loves when you long to spend time just being with Him or see Him in all the normal things of life, like parking spots and butterflies and birds and oceans and beautiful things. He’s in them, expressing His love to you. And when you catch it, intimacy is sparked. He loves your laugh and all your idiosyncrasies that make you who you are. He’s simply undone by you.
When He looks at you, He doesn’t see flaw or failure. He sees perfection and holiness and righteousness. He doesn’t see a sinner; He sees a saint, robed in garments of salvation—the salvation He gave His life for you to receive. You are His beloved Bride, whom He finds not fault or feeling of disappointment. Many have pictured God on a swivel chair just waiting for them to mess up and make a mistake so He can turn His back in disappointment. It’s just not so. Your forgiven sin doesn’t break your relationship with Him; He doesn’t reject you and turn His gaze from you. You may feel your intimacy is fractured, but even feelings are not truth. He is yours and you are His, no matter what. We really need a do-over in our perception of His love and intimate affection toward us. How do we love and follow a distant, harsh, punishing, authoritative Bridegroom? I don’t think it’s possible. But it’s not who He is. He’s a Lover through and through, and you have won His heart and His gaze!
After the Bridegroom expresses His deep passionate love for His Bride, she says, “Breathe on my garden with your Spirit-Wind. Stir up the sweet spice of your life within me. Spare nothing as you make me your fruitful garden. Hold nothing back until I release your fragrance. Come walk with me as you walked with Adam in your paradise garden. Come taste the fruits of your life in me (Song of Songs 4:16).” Make that your eye-to-eye prayer with the Lover of your life!
“Falling in love with Him and sitting at His feet should be the foundation of everything we are and all we do. Now, close your eyes and clear your mind of all distractions. Ask the Lord to make the ‘one thing’ your ultimate desire. Come to His feet by faith. Believe that He is with you and you are literally in His presence. You are with the Master now, and nothing else matters. Whisper to Him, ‘Jesus, it is you I want. Not blessings, just you. Not help, just you.’” -Michael Koulianos, “The Jesus Book: Fall Recklessly In Love With Jesus”
God’s Ongoing Work
He may be drawing a fierce line in the sand right now to separate the wheat from the chaff. He may be shaking foundations and setting us loose from bondages that we have carried our whole lives. He may be purging and pruning relationships in your life that need to either go or be set right. But the truest truth is that you are His greatest passion and His deepest desire. You are His Bride, and He’s running after to you to do all things well in your life. We get to turn and face Him and respond as laid down lovers to the One who gave it all for you. I invite you to just let His extravagant love wash over you in this moment. Let Him heal and mend and touch and woo and minister to you like the perfect Husband that He is. You will come to know just how loved you are, and then you can turn and run and love those with this same reality because you have tasted and you have seen! Enjoy a glorious dance with your Bridegroom today.
Listen to one last worship song: “We Dance” by Steffany Gretzinger.
A Few Key Notes
- If you are reading though my latest book “Revivalist Arise” join other Arise women for a weekly Zoom call to discuss the book. Invite other women to join you, too!
- Join us October 1 at the Hope Center to hear from speaker and author Christina McCracken. The cost to attend will go toward launching new Arise cities as the Lord brings them on. You can RSVP today! If you are interested in hosting a six-person table for $125, please contact Stacy Riddick at [email protected] or 214.514.3351.
- Women and young ladies, you’re invited to Mountain Tops Weekend on Saturday, October 9. We’ll enjoy a time of worship, prayer, and ministering to each other. You can RSVP now!
Date: October 9
Time: 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Location: Freedom Church, 2435 E. Hebron Parkway, Carrollton, TX
Cost: $20 - Join us October 22-23 in Midland, Texas, as we share the hope of the gospel for Harvest Day. Email me at [email protected] for more details.
