devotion

The Lord is stubborn in His pursuit of our devotion. His love is relentless and sacrificial. He knows the pain we carry and is waiting for us to trust Him.

“You need to get off the table,” I spoke as calmly as humanly possible. Deep breaths. Preparing for what was to come. We were on day 3 of having our foster son. It felt like day 103.

“No.”

Another deep breath. Stilling my voice. “You need to get off the table.”

With all the defiance he could muster, he flung the plastic tray from the game we were playing onto the floor. It did not have quite the dramatic effect he was hoping for. I was going to simply ignore it. Instead, my younger son – age 7 – demonstrated to me what Christ’s love truly looks like…

Selfless Love

My seven-year-old had been sitting at the table coloring, quietly observing the interaction that was taking place. The tray had been thrown, and he didn’t hesitate. He immediately got up from the table, picked up the tray, and calmly set it back on the table before sitting back down. The tray was thrown again, with even more effort. A second time, he stood up, got the tray, and set it on the table. A third time. A fourth time. Even a fifth time.

Each time he was so calm. Each time, he was showing love to him. I stood there in complete awe. Never before have I seen such a tangible and applicable way to show love the way Christ shows love. Continuous love, resilient love, stubborn love. My son would have kept coming back to serve him in such a simple way as many times as were needed. The Lord does the same for us.

Stubborn Love

After my son picked up the tray five times, and the game pieces following that, I found myself in a final stand-off situation with our foster son. We both had a grip on the next object that was going to feel his wrath. After seeing the example of my son, and praying for wisdom on how to respond, I looked him in the eyes and said, “We will not stop being nice to you.” At that, he let go and got off the table. He then proceeded to go under the table to silently sob.

He is only 4 and a half, Y’all. To have been done wrong so much in his so few years, no wonder he is ticked off and looking for a fight.

I sat down on the floor, his back to me. I said, “I know you’re mad, and it is ok.” Then I asked, “Can I hug you?” He didn’t say no, so I pulled him onto my lap and swayed to the music that was on in the background. He let me hold him like that for nearly 5 minutes. Those five minutes changed everything. Tears were streaming down my face as I held him; my 7-year-old sitting nearby and smiling sweetly at me.

Stubborn love changes everything.

Relentless Love

If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.

Matthew 5:39

Jesus lived this out to the ultimate sacrifice. His oppressors were beating him, ridiculing him, killing him. His response was to advocate forgiveness from the Father for them.

“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”

Luke 23:34

The Lord has been relentlessly pursuing us with stubborn love from the earliest of days. Preparing a way when there was no way. He has been fighting for us, even having to fight us in order to earn our devotion back.

The Lord has been relentlessly pursuing us with stubborn love from the earliest of days. Preparing a way when there was no way. He has been fighting for us, even having to fight us in order to earn our devotion back. Click To Tweet

Sacrificial Love

The book of Hosea is a heart-wrenching, but beautiful love story of how the Lord pursues His people. What a godly man Hosea was! He lived out a true-to-life analogy of what relentless love looks like. He married a woman he knew would be unfaithful.

Repeatedly, she would run off with other men. Repeatedly, Hosea would go and bring her home. The book shows all of God’s emotions in this pursuit.

Expressions of hurt…

“…what should I do with you?” asks the Lord. “For your love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like dew in the sunlight…” (6:4)

Anger at the betrayal…

“What sorrow awaits those who have deserted me! Let them die, for they have rebelled against me. I wanted to redeem them, but they have told lies about me…” (7:13)

Plans to fight for us…

“Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go?” (11:8)

Feelings of jealousy…

“…You must acknowledge no God but me, for there is no other savior…” (13:4)

Longing to reunite…

The Lord says, “Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever…” (14:4)

Through all of it, He had a plan of redemption. A way to restore His people. But in His mercy, He still leaves the choice to us.

Unending Kindness?

Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

Romans 2:4-5

But there is an end, isn’t there? Oh Lady, please hear my heart. I so desperately want you to know the love our Lord has for you. It is not to condemn you, it is to bring you freedom. Life. He knows you are angry, hurt, scared. And it is ok.

I implore you to turn from the lie that God is holding out on you. Run into His arms. Feel the security of His embrace.

Annie Spratt

All scripture is quoted from the New Living Translation.

Faith means having confidence in someone else’s ability without proof. To be faithful means your allegiance is solid and persistent; true to your word. God gave us proof of His faithfulness to us by sending Jesus.

An Incomplete Gift

For my mom’s most recent decade birthday (you know, 30/40/50…) I wanted to paint her an imitation of “365 Days of Happiness.” I purchased four rectangular canvases, acrylics, brushes, and sponges, then got to work. First, I coated each canvas with an ombré style base color to represent the four seasons. Once the background was dry I sketched the tree which stretches throughout the four pieces. Then I painted the tree and leaves on the middle two canvases.

At the time, my husband and I were working opposite schedules with all three of our children in school. In other words, I bit off more than I could chew and only ended up delivering two of the four canvases on my mom’s special day. I told her I would complete the final two prints by Christmas.

That didn’t happen.

Here we are, more than four and a half years later. So much life has transpired. I would say my faithfulness meter sank after the third year came and went without the completion of my masterpiece. Or perhaps it declined when we moved out of state in January of 2016. The two remaining partially completed canvases have moved with me twice now, and each time I come across them it is a glaring reminder of my failure to deliver on both the actual artwork and my word.

Being Compelled

Recently one of my pals referenced something a mutual friend of ours says to her three-year-old son: We can try again tomorrow. Those five little words have sprung to mind often since I read them. It reminds me of this reassuring passage:

…his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! I say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.”

Lamentations 3:22b-24, CSB

Regardless of current circumstances, God is a proven refuge, a sure fortress. As 2018 comes to a close, it feels natural to look back at how the Lord has worked through, sustained, and grown me. I am able to see how God is teaching me to view my failures and my sin properly, not through morbid self-introspection—which is just another form of pride, but with humility. He who began a good work will complete it. And I know I am safe and secure in His capable arms. No failure or sorrow or tragedy can pluck me from His hand. I am His own…and He is mine. God’s faithfulness is inexhaustible!

…if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.

2 Timothy 2:13, CSB

I get stuck in the sinful pattern of living for myself, unsuccessfully searching for tips, tricks, and methods to be faithful. Yet Jesus calls me to once again look at His example and to allow His love to be the method that compels me to a life of faithfulness.

For the love of Christ compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If one died for all, then all died. And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15, CSB

Restoring Faithfulness

It’s easy to look at failure through the lens of finality. But Jesus totally disrupted that when He rose from the grave! Letting failure take center stage emphasizes self, not Almighty God. Sin is super sneaky, planting seeds of cynicism and self-justification.

But we are free to try again.

Only when we do so, may it not be in our own strength, but through the proven power of Christ Jesus.

The question no longer is: Can I do it? Am I able? Can I overcome my moodiness, my laziness, my sensuality, my grudges, and resentments? The only question is: Is Jesus Christ able?

Lion and Lamb by Brennan Manning

In the spirit of Advent, and a discipline that comes straight from the Spirit of God, I completed the paintings. When I looked the original up online to reference which colors to use, the site noted that the picture is on the cover of—get this—“INSPIRED Faith: 365 Days a Year.” I laughed out loud that it had faith in the title! I took it as an affirmation from God that now is indeed the time to follow through. Then I ordered the devotional to accompany the paintings!

It’s easy to look at failure through the lens of finality. But Jesus disrupted that when He rose from the grave! Letting failure take center stage emphasizes self, not Almighty God. Click To Tweet

The Purpose

While I have no idea how my mom will react, the hope of her appreciation is not what constrained me to finish the artwork. It was confidence in and gratitude for the God who started a good work in me. Joy, anxiety, growth, misfortune, disappointment, and resolution can all occur in between the beginning of something grand and its completion.

But God never stops pursuing or working out His purpose in us.

For a moment in history He turned His face away, but He had compassion with everlasting love and sent us a Redeemer (Isaiah 54:8). Regardless of how others will receive it, it is never too late to exhibit faithfulness. The purpose of demonstrating dependability is to be Christ-like, not to show off some personal impressive skills. Clearly. It took me almost five years to deliver on a promise! Still, in a small way, I am able to replicate Christ’s devotion to the Father and to us by producing what I said I would.

I’m so glad Jehovah didn’t give us an incomplete gift. Praise be to God for keeping His promise and raising Jesus to ensure our freedom! His faithfulness is a protective shield (Psalm 91:4). Hallelujah!

Simon Fitall

Stubborn: The Lord’s Overwhelming, Relentless, Sacrificial Love