A Love Song
It’s Valentine’s Day and love is in the air. Whether you are at home, in the office, on the street, listening to the radio, wandering the streets and noticing the promotional signs, the excitement of this day is everywhere. As I was driving to work a love song by Anita Baker came on the radio called “It’s Always Been You” and it exposed a concept of love perfectly on this day.
The lyrics state, “I gave into sweet surrender…no wonder I’ve never been the same. I picked up my phone a million times to call you. But like a love-sick kid, it was my paranoia. Instead you read these thoughts inside of my head. It’s been you all the time, like someone’s light on life.”
I imagined God singing a love song to his children declaring, “it’s been you all the time…for years and years.” Please, don’t take this post and declare it as blasphemous or that my theology is questionable. I’m not saying that God would literally sing an Anita Baker song over his children. The thought of God saying “it is you that I love” is simply a beautiful concept and a reassuring reminder of an all-consuming love, no matter the circumstance.
This reminder of the Father’s love is certainly important on a day like this. Too many people are sitting alone, binge watching movies on Netflix, feeling depressed or lonely, hating on Instagram posts and mocking the notion of love. Valentine’s Day is far more than flowers, chocolates, love cards, notes or romantic dinners. It’s far more than social media exposes. If the only thing people have to look forward to with their spouses or significant others is Valentine’s Day, then my goodness, we have really lost sight of love.
Have you ever spent time planning a day where it can be just you and God? Seriously. This is not to sound like a super spiritual, hyper spiritual individual. This is about creating an atmosphere of safety, peace, enjoyment and rest, which mostly we crave when we are in the arms of our loved one. So now I’m asking: have you ever spent time just you and God alone in a room where you can talk to Him, sing to Him and wait on Him? There is genuine calm in this type of reserved space. A place where you can be with your forever Valentine, Abba Father.
Sweet surrender. Oh, it’s amazing! Stop talking. Stop planning. Stop fighting. Stop over thinking. Stop wondering. Stop questioning. Just stop it all. You are distracted and that is exactly how the enemy will continue to fuel anxiety, fear, worry and paranoia. Distraction is the enemy’s best weapon against the mind because it leads to a heart that is negatively challenged by the thought of surrender. You cannot sing a love song to Abba Father if you are in control because a love song comes from the heart. It flows out just like blood flows through your veins. You cannot genuinely sing a song unto the Lord if you are tightly bound by controlling your environment.
Get in a room. Sit on the floor. And if you don’t easily find yourself in a place of thankfulness or can’t seem to find the right words to sing, then just start with “Jesus I love you” and repeat over and over until something new births in your heart. Freedom is found when we can enter into a space of worship. Breakthrough is exposed when we enter into a place of worship. You don’t need to be a stellar singer because God is not concerned about your pitch or tone. Thank goodness for that! Just open your mouth and softly sing.
The revelations of love when you are in this glorious cloud is intoxicating. It will draw you closer each time you enter. All the thoughts that consume your mind will fade away and the promises of God will be replaced. Your swift pace, plans, coordination and self-talk speeches of how to plan your life will fade away because the atmosphere of worship will have placed you right into the arms of our Father. The lover of your soul.