Besides dying for our sins and ending our separation from God by doing so, Jesus showed us God’s heart: God WANTS us.
Many years ago, when I was on a private retreat, I was listening to tapes on experiencing a close relationship with God. The teacher had this prayer exercise: “Ask the Lord what He likes about you.” I wrote the question in my prayer journal and waited for an answer. God’s words immediately bubbled up within me: “I love how you think of Me as a person.”
This amazed and delighted me. Yet how often have we heard the words that God wants to have a personal relationship with us? Of course He’s a person.
Imagine, this is what He yearns for, to be known by each of us. Once we know Him, we know we are His beloved. The closer we come in our relationship with Him, the more we realize His individual favor towards us. We discover our uniqueness and how special, in a particular way, we are to God. This understanding, this God-perspective, becomes our true identity.
There is no one else like you and no one can love God the way you can, in the expression and manner that you might choose to love Him. This loving is actually an art, and it is very individual. This goes both ways. God, the GREAT ARTIST, loves no one else the way He loves you. God is continually watching you, doting on you, causing things in your life to help you become you. The person God is creating you to be is a lifelong process. He is very involved with your “coming of age” and will be until you come home to heaven.
I’ve used a prayer journal to document my journey, and to write down words from God and to record what God is doing in my life. I just finished rewriting Writing from the Fire Within and in this book I described an experience related to my prayer journal. Even though it happened a long time ago, I learned how delighted God was in the very paper of my prayer journal.
The day the butterfly appeared, I had re-lived the experience because I had just finished writing about it. Then the Lord surprised me again with the same message: He still loves my prayer journal. I was on my way for a day of babysitting and thought to take along my prayer journal so I could pray and journal during my grandson’s nap time. As I was about to get into my car, a butterfly landed on the top of my prayer journal, pictured here. I noticed how its wings matched the design in the cover of my prayer journal. It was as though God kissed me on the cheek and said, “I still love your prayer journal.” The butterfly stayed long enough for me to fumble around in my purse, pull out my cell phone and take 3 pictures of it. Then it flew away. I knew immediately that God had sent it. I guess God not only loves the paper of my prayer journal, but He also loves the covers, too.
I think God often orchestrates things like this to show us His affection; you could say they are coincidences, but they are not that. Often we miss them because we aren’t noticing or looking for God in the events of our lives. I was thinking about prayer and journals, and how God loves any means we use to commune with Him. So, on this occasion, God sent a little messenger to remind me that He’s still watching closely for me to notice little favors, kisses,
He sends my way. He wants us to know His heart.
Soon, I’ll have two new books published:
1) The Gardens in God’s Story: Avows Divine Romance
2) Writing from the Fire Within: A Prayer & Writing Workshop
I’ll keep you posted when they are available.