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Corona Blog --3: God calls us to Him

Father, we long to know You more

What is His heart for us in this confusion and uncertainty?

Let’s pray.

‘Father, we long to know You more.  Please lead us deeper, draw us closer to Your heart.’

I feel I should be DOING something.  As I read about the growing number of people with COVID-19, about the wonderful frontline workers in the NHS and schools and collecting our rubbish, while I stay at home doing what remains of my work and only going out to exercise, I feel guilty.  I feel that I am not pulling my weight.  I should be doing.

An activist by nature, every problem is there to be solved.  But, this ‘problem’  is not like that.  It is too big.  And, most challenging of all, the solution, for me at least, involves not doing anything – not going out, not meeting up with people, notcalling round to check my neighbours are OK.

And I sense God saying.  “Be still.  Be still in Me.”  “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

He has been saying this to me for some time.  Again and again, He reminds me that I am a human be-ing, not a human do-ing.  That His love for me is unconditional.  Above all, and ever more insistently, that He values my relationship with Him more than my ‘achievements’  for Him.   Aaaaaah!  Why am I so slow to learn this?

I suspect that I am not alone.  As Church, we are quick to leap into action, to organise good works in the community, to sign up as volunteers, to care for the poor and needy.  All this is good.  All this is encouraged by the repeated exhortations of OT prophets.

But sometimes the good is the enemy of the best.

And the best, our high calling, is the communion with God for which He longs.

God’s heart cry echoes throughout the Old Testament, again and again, “They will be My people and I will be their God.”  The prophets portray God as a faithful Bridegroom, longing for His beloved: “you will call Me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call Me ‘my master’ …I will betroth you to Me for ever” (Hosea 2: 16, 19).  In the love song at the very centre of the Bible, He calls us, “Come away, my beloved” (Song of Songs 8:14).

And God’s heart cry is echoed in our own hearts.  David sings, ‘Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart’ (Psalm 37:4)  Jesus invites us to: “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”  (Matthew 11:29).

We are His Church, His Body, His Bride.  First and foremost, we are His.

And He calls us to Himself.

Let’s pray.

‘Father, thank You for Your unfathomable love for us.  Thank you that our highest calling and our deepest fulfilment is communion with You.   Thank You that we are Yours. ’

If you have questions or would like to get in touch for any reason, please send us an email.

We’d love to hear from you!

Love, Mary

 

© Mary Jacquelin Douglas 2020

Hello

Hi, my name is Mary.  I’ve been a member of City Gate church for ages, and my desire to know God grows every year.  I’ve recently been exploring the relationship we can have with God as Father because of Jesus, and that colours everything I see.  In the midst of this corona virus pandemic, I find myself wondering what God is doing at this time.