I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my heart and mind in Song of Songs 7:10,

"I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me."

As believers are given to do, I have understood the need for my own
personal redemption. I knew and recognized the sin in my life and my
unfitness for heaven as I stood without Jesus Christ. With him, of
course, I now sport a breastplate of righteousness and am fully aware
that I am viewed by my God as holy and blameless in his sight,
Ephesians 1:4. I am aware that I now share in the righteousness of
Jesus Christ himself as I have embraced him in faith, I have been made
perfect, I have been made holy, Hebrews 10:14. Not because of anything
I have done but because of his mercy. When Jesus Christ died on that
cross, and the moment I placed my trust and faith in him, I was
redeemed from my empty way of life. It was he who did these things
within me.

People who do not recognize their shortcomings before God do not
realize they are in need of the Savior. Saving is a felt need only by
those who recognize they are imperiled and I certainly was in peril
with God's judgment of me - looming in the future. Having recognized
that need, and having responded to the gospel by embracing Jesus
Christ in faith, I am now acceptable to God.

But that is not the whole story. Due to the sinful nature that dwells
within me that has prompted me to say, do, think and feel things that
are worthy of God's judgment of me, I tend to not think too highly of
myself. I suspect many of us may do. On the one hand that has led to a
healthy humility on my part (something sorely needed by me), but I am
sure it has skewed my understanding of God's desire for me. How could
our Creator God have any desire for someone as me?

While the answer to that may be unfathomable to me, the Scriptures are
loud and clear from every corner as to the desire our Lord has for me,
for each and every one of us!

I am reminded that it was in our lost and fallen state Jesus Christ
came and died on that miserable cross on our behalf. In doing so, he
expressed God's intense desire for us, "For God so loved the world
that he sent his one and only Son..." John 3:16. I am reminded of what
John had to say in his first letter, 4:10, "This is love: not that we
loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning
sacrifice for our sins."

God's desire is for us! "I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me."

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

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Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com