“Their leader will be one of their own; their ruler will arise from among them. I will bring him near and he will come close to me, for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?” declares the Lord. “So you will be my people, and I will be your God.” —Jeremiah 30:21-22
It is the Lord who causes us to draw near to Him. God knew we would mess up. He saw it way in advance and made provision for it from the very beginning. He knows our frailty, both physical and emotional. He recognizes the limited capacity of our hearts. He sees the yes in the hearts of His people and says, “I understand your weakness, and yet I recognize your willingness to be wholly Mine.” He looks at the agreement in our hearts and calls forth our budding virtues into full maturity. You see, we are dealing with a loving Bridegroom, the Man Christ Jesus. He is fully God, but He is also fully man. He has intense affections filled with tenderness. Even while we grow and falter on our way to full maturity, He enjoys us, and His heart flows with extravagant compassion, the likes of which the world will never know without Him.
{ PRAYER STARTER }
Lord, how awesome the knowledge that You allow me to present myself in sin and weakness before You, and then in love You raise me up to spiritual maturity because You love me.
He doesn’t wield a big hammer, hoping He can find a
good reason to smash us flat.
