Pursued

Today’s Truth
My lover spoke and said to me, “Arise my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me” (Song of Songs 2:10, NIV)

Friend to Friend
I was in college when I first eyed my husband. He was sitting on the floor at a friend’s Bible study gathering with his back against the wall, dressed in scruffy jeans and a red flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up his muscular forearms. His thick brown hair and chocolate-brown eyes left me weak in the knees. And the best part was that this handsome hunk of a man had a tattered Bible in his lap. He laughed easily, prayed humbly, and read intently. I was smitten from the first time I laid eyes on Steve.

After a few weeks, he finally asked me out on a date. We continued seeing each other over the next several weeks, but I was still accepting invitations from others as well. One night, Steve asked me to a college football game, and I agreed to go. Then he said, “Can I just ask you? Will you go with me to all of the football games for the rest of the year?”

“I’m not going to answer that question,” I replied. “You’ll just have to ask me each week.”

Looking back on those early days, what I was really saying was that I wanted to be pursued. None of this blanket invitation for the entire fall business. I wanted to be wooed and won. Even though he had me the moment I saw him sitting on the shag carpet floor, I didn’t want him to know that. I wanted him to show me I was worth putting forth the effort to capture my heart. Isn’t that the desire of every woman’s heart?

And nobody does it better than God.

I love what Simon Tugwell once said: “So long as we imagine it is we who have to look for God, we must often lose heart.  But it is the other way about. He is looking for us.”

Oh friend, God has pursued and continues to pursue you every day. A sunset. A dandelion growing through a crack in a concrete sidewalk. A favorite song on the radio. He is pursuing you like a love-struck beau. Pay attention and enjoy His advances as He pursues you today.

Let’s Pray
Dear Lord, I swoon thinking of how you pursue me. Me, one so unworthy of Your advances. Help me to recognize Your love notes throughout the day. I am my beloved’s and He is mine.
Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn
Today, consider reading the story of the Samaritan woman that Jesus met at the well (John 4:1-26, 39-42).  Look at the great lengths he went to to pursue her heart.

Remember, this was a time in history when men did not speak to women in public. Jews did not enter Samaria. Women were not allowed to study under a rabbi’s teaching. And here’s another tidbit. This was the first person that Jesus told that He was the Messiah.

After you read her story, tell me what strikes you about the lengths Jesus went to to pursue her heart. www.facebook.com/sharonjaynes.

More from the Girlfriends
We tend to read the gospels with our twenty-first century eyes. But when we understand how oppressive the culture Jesus stepped into was against women, we begin to understand just how radical Jesus’ ministry, messages, and miracles were at setting women free. He risked His reputation to save theirs…and yours. Sharon’s book, What God Really Thinks about Women: Finding Your Significance through the Women Jesus Encounteredis an insightful look at every encounter Jesus had with women while here on earth. To order this life-changing book, download a free sample chapter, or watch a video, visit www.sharonjaynes.com.  You’ll fall in love with Jesus all over again.

Start your new year off right! Sharon, Gwen and Mary’s new 12-week devotion book, Trusting God, is now available. This is the perfect book for individual study or for gathering a group of friends in what we call GiG Groups. With impactful devotions, study questions, journal pages, free on-line video intros, and an index of trust-building Scriptures…this book is a resource you’ll refer to time-and-time again.