"Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; our God is merciful. The LORD preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living." -Psalm 116:5–9
The faithfulness of God is revealed in this- that He is our deliverer from all things, and He delivers us into the wide open spaces of His presence. Even amid enemy territory, we can be delivered onto the holy ground of the Promised Land. Indeed, often deliverance doesn't look like being taken up on the heights and the removal of our circumstances, but rather the comfort of the Lord, a pinion to find refuge under, a gateway of hope in a valley of trouble. Deliverance itself is not where God takes you, but where He is. And His presence and nearness to you is not something one could earn, and can, quite honestly, be detrimental to strive for. The faithful heart of Christ Jesus does not hinge upon your love or your faith towards Him, it is consistently pursuing despite your feeling or your standing. You do not save your own soul. You do not save your eyes from tears. You cannot prevent your stumbling and falling. In the same way, your deliverance is not a matter you can control; it is the faithfulness of the Lord Himself.
Our turning away and rejecting Jesus doesn't lessen the faithfulness of His heart, it only strengthens our ability to see it. The crimson tempest that once stood between us and God has parted, the chasm closed, the boundary lines gone, but there in the middle where the divide once stood shall always serve as a reminder to our prone-to-wander hearts that God is not thwarted by our lack of faithfulness.
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor [trouble] a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. And in that day, declares the LORD, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD." - Hosea 2:14–20
To the bride who leaves the Bridegroom for lesser lovers:
God does not consider how to punish you for your unfaithfulness, but how to draw you back to reveal His own. Because, please consider, that the Bridegroom's faithful heart toward you is an action shaped by His gentleness and lowliness and, even deeper, love.
This does not diminish the power of Christ and His holiness, but it shows His intentions and His posture; He does not cross His arms and taps His foot angrily until you return. He is a relentless pursuer. Not forceful, gentle. Not yelling for your attention, quiet. Speaking tenderly until at last, you arrive at the troublesome doorway that once led you astray to find it has been redeemed, painted once over by the blood of the Lamb.
Could it be the place where your unfaithfulness began is where Hope stands now, not as a towering reminder of your failing but as an altar? For, upon the altar is where the Lamb paid for every crimson stain upon you, clothed you in the dress of righteousness, and before this altar, we come following the tender voice of the Shepherd, the song of Heaven like the sound of wedding bells (Revelation 21).
I will make you lie down in safety.
I will betroth you to Me forever.
In righteousness.
In justice.
In steadfast love.
In mercy.
In faithfulness.
Promises upon promises upon promises He utters over us, knowing that our own we cannot keep. Yet, our Lord is faithful, and in our failing, constant falling, there is an altar of Hope in the middle of enemy territory. Here every lesser name falls away and becomes alien to our lips, no longer will we praise any other.
Return again, O my soul, do you not see how bountifully the Lord deals with you?
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