Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, And people for your life. Fear not, for I am with you.-Isaiah 43:4-5
Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with loving-kindness I have drawn you. Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt.-Jeremiah 31:3-4
The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”-Zepheniah 3:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.-James 1:17-18
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.- John 3:16
For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.- Luke 19:10
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. - John 14:27
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.- Matthew 11:28-30
I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.- Psalm 34:4-10
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.-Psalm 34:18
You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book? When I cry out to You, Then my enemies will turn back; This I know, because God is for me.-Psalm 56:8-9
If I continue, I’d basically be quoting the entire Bible. Contrary to popular belief, the Bible is one big love letter from God to man. It’s got countless stories, documented by different men, from different time periods, and careers, yet they all experience the same God’s love. Question: if you were to knock on every door of your apartment building or street, how many of those people will have the exact same beliefs and views on God? If the continuity alone in the Bible isn’t enough, there’s the historical accuracy and unparalleled ”manuscript authority.” But hey, I don’t wanna get too preachy on you about the legitimacy of the Bible. What I’d much rather you do, is discover this God personally. Honestly, I’d be one cruel-hearted person if I wrote blogs about myself, and flippant/insignificant fluff on fashion or celebrities rather than on this incredibly loving being that I experience every single day.
It’s hard to recall when I first encountered God because I’m sure He’s showed up in my life many times before I finally decided to pursue Him for a change. For instance, when I was maybe around eight or nine years old, I saw an angel at my mom’s job. Seriously. There’s tears in my eyes as I write this. I had left this empty conference room where I was seated in a rolly chair, highlighting files my mom had given me, playing around and etc., to go to the restroom or something. When I walk back inside, I see this woman, a brunette, in a white robe, glowing brightly–she had that whole foggy affect people get in glamor shots where the image is softened–sitting in the chair I was seated at! This beautiful woman smiles at me, and I know I wasn’t seeing things because when she disappeared, the chair moved! (‘Member I told you it had wheels). The next major encounter was when I went to a Baptist church for the first time with my family at the age of 12. Something happened in my heart (and my parent’s and sister’s), after this man shared his testimony, and asked those of us who wanted a personal relationship with Jesus to walk up to the altar to say a prayer. I just remember we were all crying so hard. After that experience, my dad got connected to Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale and continued to go to church every Sunday. My mom, sister and I went for a little, but the boys in middle school quickly became a distraction. I stopped going to church completely, and totally forgot about the encounter I had with God. It would be six years before I returned to Him.
Mind you, during this six years, I believed I had a relationship with Him. I prayed often, “God give me this, God do this, God bless this,” but that was about it. There were even times where I acknowledged Him working in my life. Like when I tried to lose it to my ex: three times and every time something happened. I looked up one night after yet another failed attempt and said, “God, I think you don’t want me to have sex with this boy.” A few months after that, this same guy tossed my heart into a den of lions, shredding it to pieces (not to make him sound like a horrible person, he wasn’t, he was just incapable and afraid of loving me the way I loved him. Not to mention God didn’t want me with him). That night, February 22nd, 2009, I cried out to God like never before. On my bed I wailed, “God, please speak to me!” and grabbed my old precious moments Bible I received at my Catholic baptism when I was eight, and flung it open to any page. This is what I read.
May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you; 2 May He send you help from the sanctuary, And strengthen you out of Zion; 3 May He remember all your offerings, And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah
4 May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, And fulfill all your purpose. 5 We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.
6 Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God. 8 They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stand upright.
9 Save, Lord! May the King answer us when we call.
The next day I actually started to read that book (started in the New Testament book of Matthew), and miraculously, in *six* days I stopped crying, and was truly joy-filled. It was crazy, so much so, my mom was worried for my sanity. My family was astounded that this girl, who was so in love and broken-hearted and dependent on relationships, would be smiling and saying things like, “I don’t need a boyfriend. Jesus mended my heart.” I soon reconnected with an old friend who happened to become a Christian not long before I did, and she told me about prophets. (A prophet is someone who can give you a word from God; quite different from psychics who get their messages from satanic spirits). I was skeptical, but started to pray that God would place one in my path (I worked with my ex, and was still confused as to whether or not one day we’d get back together; there was also another ex I’d get “signs” about which I can confidently say now that God wasn’t the one sending me these confusing mixed messages). Sure as heck, I meet a prophet maybe a week after I started praying for one. And what does this man tell me right after I introduce myself with no information except, “My name’s Natasha, and I’ve been asking God to place a prophet in my path”? “The Spirit of the Lord told me Satan’s been confusing you with relationships, but God said He’s going to make things clear for you very soon. Very soon.” I met the man who is now my husband less than a week later on March 4th, 2009.
Now listen, princess, I’m not saying when you come to God the man He has for you is gonna come galloping in immediately, but the point is, God will! And I love my husband dearly, but he does not hold a candle to the God who made him. Talk about romantic, God’s love and grace is immeasurable, unfailing, and unconditional. He makes me feel so loved and pursued in a way that my husband (although he was quite the Romeo), has never came close to making me feel. So how do you get to know this incredible lover? Simple. Call out to Him. Invite Him to come into your life, (yes, through His Son Jesus), and He will. Then you’ll understand why I’m so crazy about Him. =))
P.S. These are two awesome videos from a documentary entitled “Furious Love.” Just a taste of this incredible God who loves you passionately.
