Jason Roark brings today’s devotional:
Deuteronomy 6:5 says: “Love the Lord your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
I spent this last weekend at Winterfest in Arlington, TX. This was an amazing youth rally where thousands of young people and chaperons came together. For myself, the purpose was plain and simple. I wanted my fire relit, reignited, and my soul refreshed and reformed. So often we as Christians wait for something, or even someone to come along and bring that refreshing spirit back into our lives, but I was reminded of one thing at Winterfest. That one thing is that it all starts with loving God. That was part of the theme this year. "Love God, Love Others!"
We throw the word love around at everything. For example: I just love brownies, I love that car, I love video games, I love … You fill in the blanks. We all say it and use it for everything. Probably the use that comes the closest to being how God longs to be loved is how we love our loved ones. The love that God is longing for is physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. It is every ounce of our being. It is waking up in the morning and thinking of nothing else but that love. It is going to bed at night and being so thankful for that love and the forgiveness. It is like breathing the air around us. You need it and the more you get the more you need. It is a yearning. I think that I understand better and better as I grow older and my children get bigger. At the youth rally, I saw husbands with their wives and longed for my own wife. I saw a woman holding her little girl after she fell down, and I longed for my daughter. I saw little boys holding their daddy’s hands and sitting on daddy’s shoulders as they worshipped and felt like I was not a whole man. I yearned for my family. I believe that is how God feels for us every second of every day. He yearns for the day we will all be together forever. He yearns for us to turn to him finally and ask for forgiveness and for us to leave our lives in his hands.
We tend to forget that love because we have allowed ourselves to become too busy and sidetracked with life and work and “fun.” This is just the beginning of my thoughts on this matter, but if we are wanting that revival to our spirit and that new start, it has to begin with how we love our creator. What are you yearning for? What are you longing for? What are you hungering for? Have you been loving God, like you love your favorite sports team, or your favorite food? Does your love for him involve your whole being or just what is convenient for you at that moment? A lot of questions to ask yourself, but if you are wanting to start over and truly love God, start by taking a look at where your energy is going. Take a look at where your time is spent. Take a look at where your thoughts go. His love is constant and never ending. Take some time today to think about what you have been giving God lately. Listen for that yearning. Answer the call of that love and run to the Father, just like a daughter runs to her daddy after he’s been gone on a long trip. Love the Lord your God!
Blessings,
Jason
