“There’s no shadow You won’t light up
Mountain You won’t climb up
Coming after me
There’s no wall You won’t kick down
Lie You won’t tear down
Coming after me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it
I don’t deserve it
Still You give yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God”¹   

Reckless Love by Cory Asbury

Last night, these lyrics stirred in my spirit as I dozed off to sleep and were my first waking thoughts.

How amazing is God’s pursuing love!

He came to set me free, to heal my heart, to give me abundant life!

God pursues me. And He pursues you!

God pursues us because He loves us.  But He also pursues us because He wants us to live an abundant life and enjoy relationship with Him.

Here’s the caveat though…  do you WANT to be rescued, free, healed, and loved?

Seems like a silly question, I know.

Enjoying relationship with any person involves some amount of trust.  The depth of your vulnerability will determine the depth of your relationship. Deeply loving requires the courage to be deeply open to others.

If you’ve been alive for a decade or longer, you’ve experienced the pain that also comes when trust is violated.  Friends betray us, acquaintances gossip about us, co-workers sabotage us, loved ones leave us… with each additional hurt, we begin to build walls around our heart.  We start to believe that no one is trustworthy.  We determine it’s better to only rely on ourselves.  Sound familiar?

This prison of choice keeps us safe from pain,  but it also insulates us from authentic love!

It’s here, in this place, that God’s love pursues us!  He wants us to know His love… but we need to trust His love!  We need to trust that God loves us enough to kick down our heart-walls, tear down the lies we’ve believed, and find us in our lonely place.

When Your Heavenly Father charges in kicking down those heart-walls, pouring out His unending, unconditional love, and declaring truth that topples lies, you have a choice to make…

A: Stay safe inside your fortress, risk free but love free

B: Shake off the chains of fear and step into love’s embrace!

Jesus came to bring us good news, to heal the brokenhearted, to bring liberty to captives, to open prison doors, to replace mourning with joy (Isaiah 61:1-3)! Our responsibility is trust!  It’s simple, yet complex!

*Trusting the Lord requires believing that He has your best interest at heart.*

It’s much like Peter stepping out of the boat.  The waves look insurmountable, the water seems overwhelming, but look into the eyes of Jesus!  Those eyes promise His eternal presence, His never-ending love, and His covenant relationship!

Let Him light up your shadows!  Let Him kick down your walls!  Let His Truth replace your lies!  Shake off those broken chains and step into the Light. Our God is trustworthy; He won’t break your heart!

Go Deeper: Isaiah 61:1-3, Proverbs 3:3-8, II Timothy 1:7

Live Loved!

1Lyrics from “Reckless Love” by Cory Asbury