There are a few things that I use in my spiritual practice. One of them is a 12-step program called AlAnon. It has helped me heal from past trauma, hurts, and distorted perspectives. Another is my dedication to keeping my energy organized through The Emergence Process, meditation, and a few other daily practices that keep my spirit refreshed and aligned. But today I want to talk about my oldest spiritual practice of being a Christian. When I say I am a Christian I mean that I am a follower of Christ's teaching - that I do read the Scriptures written in the Bible. I took a break from reading the Bible but I've found my way back and I love it so much. Reading these ancient truths has healed me in numerous ways.
Today I ran across Proverbs 10. The book of Proverbs is one of poetic beauty and ancient wisdom. It is thought to be one of the greatest books of wisdom, penned by the wisest man to have ever lived, King Solomon. It is written to us as sons and daughters of the Living God, with words of love, tenderness, and rich inheritance. Proverbs 10 specifically talks about living a life of blessing, and there are specific references to the blessings of the Lovers of God and of God's Lover.
I have never had an issue with saying that I loved God but it made me feel uncomfortable to say that I was God‘s Lover. I can’t explain exactly why except it seemed the ultimate intimacy would be required to allow this into my life, and seemed almost scandalous; which is kind of sad. I realized that my understanding of the word, Lover wasn't accurate. I was viewing it as the world views it, not as it is written in the scriptures. Isn't it just like my failing human foolishness to pervert a word that is meant to infer intimacy into something weird and ew? Just like so many other things in my life, what was meant for healing and tenderness had become distorted.
As tears rolled down my cheeks as I imagined that God was calling me his Lover, I allowed my heart to melt just enough to do a google search. As I dug into the word Lover it was revealed that its meaning is innocently a level of intimacy, a relationship of devotion, fondness, loyalty, and deep delight. How could I have been so foolish to not completely accept, embrace, and go into the flow of being God's Lover?! I mean what was I thinking? I sat in meditation and allowed this to wash over me. It was as if a long forgotten dance had begun again.
I’ve stepped into this new title and realized there are so many promises attached to being God‘s Lover. I thought about how I have so many blessings from being the lover of my earthly partner, who showers me with so much goodness. He gives me thoughtful generous gifts, he’s always thinking about me, he makes sure that I’m protected and if I need a little self-care, he always leaves me cash so I can go treat myself. As I explored being God's Lover I found these promises that I want to share with you.
Proverbs 10 states that as God's Lover...
v. 3: the Lord will satisfy all your longings
v. 6: your life is enriched beyond belief
v. 11: your teachings are like living truth flowing from the fountain of life
v. 16: you earn wages for a life of righteousness
v. 21: you feed many with your teachings
v. 24: your longings will ALL be fulfilled
v. 28: you have a joyful feast of gladness
v. 30: you can never be greatly shaken
I am a lover of God and I am officially God's Lover, intimately in a relationship with the one that loves me so deeply and completely. What makes this incredible story of romance so wild is that each and every single one of us can enter into this relationship, we each get to choose, we each get to say yes, we each get to enjoy this connection to a Higher Power that intimately knows us, loves us and is cascading a Lover's care over us.
I hope this touches you as much as it touched me.
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