like a woman scorned"...is the complete phrase I believe. But this afternoon the first four words took on a new meaning for me.
I was driving in the car with two teens in tow, no radio on...so there was some silence to actually have a few minutes to think. I usually prefer no radio on in the car because that's sometimes where I do my best (or at least deepest!) thinking. And I don't know how I got to where my thoughts led because (I believe) I'm a little ADD and my thoughts are rapid-fire...that's putting it mildly. But at some point, my thoughts were something like this: 'I just wish every woman I knew...knew...without a doubt that she is loved with a passionate, wild, unlimited, jealous...' and in my mind I knew I was heading toward the word...Love!
But another word slipped in between jealous and Love and it's one I've never thought of before when pondering the Love of God. It even made me pause and ask if this word was just my ADD-meandering mind or if God's Holy Spirit slipped a new word in there to give me pause and learn something new for myself. After a few hours of reflection...I'm gonna give Him credit.
So backing up...here's how it went: 'I just wish every woman I knew...knew...without a doubt that she is loved with a passionate, wild, unlimited, jealous...furious...Love!'
Truly...I did a..."What the...?" (yes...insert...heck!)
Furious? Huh?
I've never thought of God as having a furious love. When I started asking Him about it, at first I couldn't get around the fact that "to be furious" is usually seen as a negative thing. And then He asked me how I feel when others mistreat my kids, when they wrongly judge or accuse them, mock them, shun them, criticize them and I began to get a glimpse at what He meant.
Then He brought back to mind what I'd been thinking before my "wish" for the women I know. I'd been praying that I would feed on His faithfulness...something I've been praying a lot lately. (see "Feeding Time")And as always, when I pray this phrase: "Lord, help me to feast (or feed) on Your faithfulness alone!", He reminds me, and often has me say to myself, that His faithfulness means His really, real reality...not the smoke and mirrors that satan throws out before us constantly.
When I began to put together how I feel when my kids are mistreated, how frustrated and even sometimes angry I get when people can't see how much they are loved (not angry at them, but angry that we are all so deceived) and to what extent I've told God I am willing to go so that others will know His Love...yep, I began to understand. And I'm not even the One who loves us most and knows us best. Right now...I'm not even sure "furious" is a big enough word to describe this aspect of His Love.
So let me leave you with this:
Somewhere, possibly in the depth of your being that has been so long forgotten that you don't even recognize it...do you get that you are loved? And not just any love. But a Love that is passionate...wild...unlimited...jealous...and yes...absolutely furious!
Embrace Him Beloved. You are His child, He is your Abba (Daddy) and "Hell hath no fury..." like His furious Love!
I was driving in the car with two teens in tow, no radio on...so there was some silence to actually have a few minutes to think. I usually prefer no radio on in the car because that's sometimes where I do my best (or at least deepest!) thinking. And I don't know how I got to where my thoughts led because (I believe) I'm a little ADD and my thoughts are rapid-fire...that's putting it mildly. But at some point, my thoughts were something like this: 'I just wish every woman I knew...knew...without a doubt that she is loved with a passionate, wild, unlimited, jealous...' and in my mind I knew I was heading toward the word...Love!
But another word slipped in between jealous and Love and it's one I've never thought of before when pondering the Love of God. It even made me pause and ask if this word was just my ADD-meandering mind or if God's Holy Spirit slipped a new word in there to give me pause and learn something new for myself. After a few hours of reflection...I'm gonna give Him credit.
So backing up...here's how it went: 'I just wish every woman I knew...knew...without a doubt that she is loved with a passionate, wild, unlimited, jealous...furious...Love!'
Truly...I did a..."What the...?" (yes...insert...heck!)
Furious? Huh?
I've never thought of God as having a furious love. When I started asking Him about it, at first I couldn't get around the fact that "to be furious" is usually seen as a negative thing. And then He asked me how I feel when others mistreat my kids, when they wrongly judge or accuse them, mock them, shun them, criticize them and I began to get a glimpse at what He meant.
Then He brought back to mind what I'd been thinking before my "wish" for the women I know. I'd been praying that I would feed on His faithfulness...something I've been praying a lot lately. (see "Feeding Time")And as always, when I pray this phrase: "Lord, help me to feast (or feed) on Your faithfulness alone!", He reminds me, and often has me say to myself, that His faithfulness means His really, real reality...not the smoke and mirrors that satan throws out before us constantly.
When I began to put together how I feel when my kids are mistreated, how frustrated and even sometimes angry I get when people can't see how much they are loved (not angry at them, but angry that we are all so deceived) and to what extent I've told God I am willing to go so that others will know His Love...yep, I began to understand. And I'm not even the One who loves us most and knows us best. Right now...I'm not even sure "furious" is a big enough word to describe this aspect of His Love.
So let me leave you with this:
Somewhere, possibly in the depth of your being that has been so long forgotten that you don't even recognize it...do you get that you are loved? And not just any love. But a Love that is passionate...wild...unlimited...jealous...and yes...absolutely furious!
- Furious at the way your enemy has mistreated you.
- Furious at how he has mocked, judged, shunned and criticized you.
- Furious that you have been deceived into believing that this world is your home. That somehow life doesn't get any better than this.
- Furious that you believe that the pursuit of things and pampering and "me" time are all that life is worth living for.
- Furious that you are missing out on the most amazing blessing ever...just being loved.
Embrace Him Beloved. You are His child, He is your Abba (Daddy) and "Hell hath no fury..." like His furious Love!
Very nice, Angela! I actually teared up a little while reading this. Thank you for passing on this message from my daddy to me! I needed it!!!!
ReplyDelete