May 13 Be Personal
May 13
Be Personal
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
—Isaiah 41:10
God always uses such intimate language when He relates to us. He paints warm images of sheltering us under His wings, holding us in the palm of His hand, or drawing us close to His breast. He’s so personal with us, why shouldn’t we be with Him?
Yet when we affirm Christ as our personal Savior, we often talk more about Christianity than about Jesus. We distance ourselves from our Lord, relating to Him in detached and objective terms. Describing Jesus becomes an exercise in discussing “the Christian experience,” or “the Christian walk.” We are more relaxed talking over doctrines and church traditions rather than about Christ as a person.
If we’re embarrassed to talk openly about our love for Him, perhaps it’s because we feel we so often fail Him. Maybe we fear total surrender to Him because of what may happen if we let go and love. Ah, but “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment” (1 John 4:18).
The words of 1 John 4:19 are so intimate: “We love because he first loved us.” If you desire to be free of fear, memorize and meditate on portions of Scripture that describe God’s love and your need. Read parts of John’s gospel to hear the heartbeat of Christ just hours before the cross…read Psalm 51 to grasp the bitterness of sin…then enjoy the Song of Songs to find warm and intimate language of love.
Oh, Jesus, thank You for being so personal with me. That You should be so intimate with me pulls at my heart. I love You, Jesus.