What’s Love have to do with February? Everything!
Imagine the month with the least days, stirring up the most emotion in our hearts. Think about the view that God has concerning His love for us when it is eclipsed each February by whether or not we have a Valentine? There is a Gospel song entitled, “There is no greater love” but do we really believe that? Do we believe that the category of love that God has for us should be so fulfilling that we go into February grateful? Are we lovesick for God? Do we long for the time that we will spend with Him for all eternity? I asked these questions to begin a discussion on a Love Story that goes far beyond February 14th. What is it really for God to say, “I will never leave you nor forsake you?” My brother, my sister, we can be with someone who is a Gift from God, sent from Heaven, but he or she will still fail us. They will miss the mark. They will at times, leave us bewildered, but the One who is able to make that statement and back that up is not as thought about or sought after on Valentine’s Day.
Why is that? When I ask that question, do your thoughts immediately go to me being unreasonable and making light of the longing of companionship? If your thoughts did, I am happy to park there for a moment, and even pay the parking meter. A great soldier not only knows their game plan, they become knowledgeable about their enemy. We have a real Enemy, who makes attempts to come through anything that he can. It can be a holiday, a wedding invitation, or even fears of not having desires met. The catalyst to being able to navigate through feelings that are precipitated by holidays and occurrences that trigger various things in us is to hit it head on. It is about genuinely addressing and replacing those feelings with a fruitful exchange. God has a way of making us whole and filling voids in our lives. If we are really honest, do we choose to skip that class, because we either want to wallow in those feelings or we want to help God out in the area of relationships?
There is this interesting dynamic that can happen in the heart to feel the need to share that you have been chosen. This year, I was hit with one of the most sobering truths. I remember telling people, although I have never been married, a wedding ring was purchased for me. I held on to that for years. Until God unearthed that statement recently. What was near my bedrock of my foundation was the feeling of, “Well, at least a ring was bought.” So, I go on thinking, we are one category higher than someone who never had a ring purchased for them. Intimacy with God will unveil a plethora of safeguards that we have around our hearts. The painful truth was that for years, I was not focused on how much I let that relationship move me away from God, because the prize was the ring. The major focus was not about two becoming one to impact the Kingdom for God, I was more concerned with let me at least get something out of all I felt I had gone through.
There are some heartfelt conversations that you can have with yourself as you approach February. The Divine Work & Pray will be geared to placing the mirror front and center, a telling glass that has become cloudy with an image that does not reflect the positioning of your heart. The best healing comes from a vulnerability that shares an unsightly truth. Isaiah 61:3 tells us that God will give beauty for ashes. It is just like God to be able to take the ugliest moments of our lives and with a repentant heart, take what was meant to kill us to be a part of our testimony for His faithfulness. At the end of the day, your purpose is far greater than making a decision on February 14th that will negatively impact the remaining 321 days! God has given Believers, who are single the gift of knowing that you are loved; you’re so profoundly loved that He gave His only begotten for you to experience everlasting love.
Divine Work & Pray:
WORK: Utilize the Divine Design Journal to jot down thoughts that have plagued you for years, as February 14 approached. Identify scripture that becomes an answer of triumph to those thoughts and emotions. There are a number of activities that you can do on February 14th, such as: schedule a dinner with friends; visit a Senior Citizen Assistant Living facility and gift them with flowers and cards; or spend it with your first love, Jesus Christ and read from the greatest Love Story ever told.
PRAY: To the Lover of my Soul. The plans of the Enemy will not work this year concerning a day that you have made. February 14th belongs to You. I am so grateful for the people whom you have put in my life, who are an extension of Your love. I will no longer be plagued with the thoughts of lack on February 14th, because there is no lack in You. Every void in my life you have filled; and if and when there is an area that You allow someone else to be a part of - my greatest love will still be for You. May I remain lovesick for You and You alone. Give me a mature love, a love that is so contagious and plenteous that it shows the work that you can do in a surrendered heart. That I may go through life not always on the defensive, but offensively telling of Your goodness and enamored with Your ways. This is my prayer, in the Name of my first love, Jesus Christ. Amen.
