A Call to Greater Intimacy

We read in Zephaniah 3:17:

"The Lord . . . will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.

I wanted to tell you about an incident that happened the morning after the AzusaNow event in Los Angeles. I was driving to pick up a friend for breakfast before going together to the Anaheim Vineyard Church. It was about a 45-minute drive and I wasn't entirely sure where his hotel was so I had set my SatNav to take me there. Unfortunately, I couldn't get my iPhone to connect properly so that I could hear the instructions over the car sound system. It was quite frustrating because it simply wouldn't work. All it would do was play some of the music I had on my phone. In the end, I gave up and decided to just listen to the music!

As I drove along, a song from James Taylor and Carol King came on - "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" - a song I'm very familiar with. But this time, it took on a much greater significance. What happened in that moment was a realisation that the Lord was singing this song to me as I drove along in the car. It was a profound experience that was life-changing.

Here are the lyrics:

Tonight you're mine completely
You give your love so sweetly
Tonight the light of love is in your eyes
But will you love me tomorrow?

Is this a lasting treasure
Or just a moment's pleasure
Can I believe the magic of your sighs
Will you still love me tomorrow?

Tonight with words unspoken
You say that I'm the only one
But will my heart be broken
When the night meets the morning sun?

I'd like to know that your love
Is love I can be sure of
So tell me now and I won't ask again
Will you still love me tomorrow?

As I drove along, something happened deep in my heart - I realised that the Lord was asking me a question - after all the excitement of the previous day, all the activity and bustle of people crying out to God for him to move in the nations - he still had one question on his heart for me. Will I still love him when the event is over and life goes back to 'normal'? It's a call to greater and deeper intimacy.

In Matthew 25 Jesus tells the story of the 10 Bridesmaids – five wise and five foolish. When the  ones without the oil eventually turned up at the feast and ask to be let in, the Bridegroom gives a chilling response: “Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.” (verse 12). The word that is translated “know” literally means “to look eye-to-eye” – implying that the oil they were missing was the oil of intimacy. In the next verse he says, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” Jesus is serious about our need to pursue a relationship of intimacy with the Father through him. The parable implies that we have to buy the oil for ourselves; we cannot acquire it from anyone else.

At the beginning of the Song of Solomon the young woman says:

“While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance.” (Song of Solomon 1:12)

This is a striking picture of how our worship – spending time in his presence, seeking his face – truly gives off a pleasing aroma to the Lord. The Bible is full of exhortations to true intimacy with God – it’s also gratifying that in recent years we have rediscovered and found access to this kind of intimacy in our worship. He really wants us to go deeper in our love for him - not just in the 'high' times of worship and adoration - but also in the course of our everyday lives.

I want to suggest that you ask the Lord to sing over you and that you really listen to what he has to say to you. If it helps, you could listen to the song the Lord spoke to me through and let him touch your heart in the same way. Just click on the link below.

Will You Love Me Tomorrow?

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