ECHOING LOVE

I found the elk herd! Camera in hand, my adrenaline pumping as I tried to glimpse the bull I had heard bugling.

And there he was, just across the river lying in the low brush. In reality, what I saw was mostly antlers!

I spent most of the day photographing these majestic animals.

There had been a lot on my mind. Some deep ponderings and questions I was asking God. Stuff in life I was trying to figure out.

The Lord had been silent all day. It was ok. You might say the day in the wilderness was a mental diversion to lighten the heaviness in my heart. It was not an evasion of Jesus’ presence that I was seeking. Instead, the day felt very intimate with the Lord as we quietly enjoyed His creation together. My depth of struggle was obvious. I knew He saw it, but He was not speaking about it. He was letting me wrestle with it.

Roxanne and I have faced many challenges. We’ve discovered that it’s possible to talk too much. Often, we find ourselves holding hands on a walk or watching a sunset. Amid life’s pressures and unanswered questions, holding hands in silence goes further than words. Hand-in-hand, confident in our commitment and love for each other the silence does not preclude the deep knowing that together we can face anything life throws at us and it will only push us deeper in love.

This was the kind of interaction the Lord and I shared in the middle of the forest by the river.

The love of God reverberates through every part of my life!

Toward the end of the day, I left the elk and was driving amid stunning views of the towering Rocky Mountains surrounding me.

For the first time all day, my Heavenly Father broke the silence with these words,

“I LOVE YOU!”

I was caught off guard. It wasn’t the words I was expecting to hear. With all my shortcomings I figured He would have something more instructive or corrective to say.

The words went deep. Like He just drilled a hole in my soul and poured it all in. The kind of deep that reached my most vulnerable places.

I continued driving, trembling, pressure building behind my eyes as they began to blur with tears.

Then He asked me a question.

“Do you want to know why I waited to speak until you were surrounded by the mountains?”

I didn’t have an answer.

His voice was soft as He whispered,

“So you could hear it echo.”

The love of God reverberates through every part of my life! It has been a theme since I came to know Him at 12 years old. Quick to forget or doubt His love, the Father is faithful to affirm it over and over again.

Did you know He has staked a flag over you? It identifies WHO you are. The Banner is raised high, flying proudly in the storms and in the sunshine. It can be heard flapping in the darkness and seen in glorious color by day. And what is this faithful banner?

His banner over you is LOVE (Song of Solomon 2:4).

LOVED! That’s WHO you are to Heavenly Father!

God’s love is the profound reality that changes everything.

And, in complete humble gratitude, I can say that I am special and so are you. Why? Because the Father has set His incomprehensible love upon us.

And it is this love that makes us WHO we are in JESUS:

Blessed, chosen, adopted, accepted, redeemed, forgiven, entrusted, God’s inheritance, existing for the praise of His glory, made alive with Christ, raised up with Him, and seated together with Him in Heavenly places! Loved by God! Saved by grace through faith. His workmanship! God’s worker! A member of His family!

Jesus LOVES YOU, this I KNOW! But you don’t need me to tell you. Listen, He is speaking it over you now.

Royal Crown