Relentless Love
Fully awake and yet caught up in a real experience with the God who knows every limitation we face and every ounce of abundance we can experience, I stood. After the vivid picture I had seen, I waited for God to clarify what I was seeing with the eyes of my imagination and what He wanted me to know about this picture. My sight was drawn to the volcano erupting. Lava was coming out with force and pouring out onto the mountain. The fiery red lava was moving down every side of the mountain. People came into view, and I saw they were in various places around the mountain. Some were just beginning to climb, and some were further up the mountain. Despite their position in the journey, no one escaped the lava. Whether at the start or high up on the mountain, the lava pursued them and caught them up in its grip.
As I stood completely overwhelmed by the sight, I could hear God’s gentle whisper to my heart which brought peace. He whispered, “Child, ask me about the lava.” So I did. Then like He does, He gently led me to the answer: the lava symbolized the blood of Jesus. It wasn’t destructive. It was pursuant. It found every person, no matter where they were along the path, and swept them up into His abundant love. That is when I realized the lava wasn’t pushing people down the mountain. It was going down to every person, then lifting them up and carrying them back to the source of the powerful explosion. Each one was lifted higher, and some sat at the edge of the volcano’s top and began drinking from the fire. It was like living water. It refreshed and empowered each one who drank because it contained the goodness, love, mercy, power, and healing of God.
That is when the vivid picture ended, and I began to process what I had seen. The first thing that came to mind was that even when we don’t understand what is happening around us, we must realize it does no good to run from God. His pursuing love does not push us away from Him, but rather leads us to Himself as our source. This same God of love sees us on our journey, and He knows that no matter where we are, His love will reach us. We are not too far; life is not too messy. Yes, there are many questions and uncertainties. We can get caught up in the tension between distractions, decisions, and delays along our journey. We even find ourselves like the people on the volcano, at different points in our journey but unsure if the lava that is pursuing us is for our good or detriment. Can I encourage you? In the middle of change or confusion, God sees you and knows you. When you want God to show you where He is (and we all would love nothing more than to know that), He will.
Like that picture of the mountain, His love sees value in people and pursues us wherever we are so that He can bring us up higher. His pursuant love goes after us, brings us close to Himself, and then fills us with His power. His goodness nourishes our weariness, brings healing to our wounds, and helps us make sense of the questions. His love draws us to Himself as the ultimate source of life. So let His goodness chase after you and find you wherever you are. Let it bring you close to his heart and show you the living and refining water that wants to purify and refresh you from the inside out. Let His goodness, the glory of his presence, supply you with power and bring new life and energy to the very core of your being. He pursues. He draws. You must drink.
We have a responsibility to dip our hands into the living water of His Holy Spirit. Just like those who were dipping their hands into the fiery lava that was the source of the outpouring of love, we must posture our hands and hearts to drink from His goodness. The Holy Spirit is ready to be complete fullness for us. He is life, liberty, and love. Everything about him is like living water which satisfies our deepest desires and waters the seeds of destiny that reside within our souls. As we choose to drink from His goodness, we fill ourselves up with wholeness. He is the only thing that has the power to refresh, restore, and recharge us for the journey, so we must allow him to pursue us so we can pursue Him.
“I am energized every time I enter your heavenly sanctuary
to seek more of your power and drink in more of your glory.”
Psalm 63:2 TPT
