I heard his voice yesterday. He said that he loved me. He spoke it confidently, certain that nothing could take away his love. He spoke it gently, hoping I’d receive his affections. He spoke it joyously, knowing that nothing could compete against the passion in his heart.
My body collapsed in the assurance of his embrace. Like a flash flood, his words quickly and fervently rushed over me and filled a part of me I hadn’t known to be empty. I longed to hear him again, O say it again! My soul longs for his love; I am in dire need of his love. It completes me in a way I had not known to be incomplete. As the deer pants for water, so my soul longs for him. Needs him. Wants him.
“As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” Isaiah 62:5
“I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness & justice, in loving-kindness & mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness…” Hosea 2:19-20
And then, like a flash flood, the rain stopped and the waters subsided. Where was he? I re-imagined the sound of his voice, and what it felt like to hear him proclaim his love and affection for me — me, a lowly peasant girl, and he a king.
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:3
Though his voice faded, his love remained. And no love can trump the true lover’s love. In his kingdom is life, and had I not known him, I would have died. But he saved me. My beloved saved me and rescued me from the depravity of my soul. Unknowingly, I had sought for his love. I sought after wholeness and fulfillment. Now I know: It is only found in him.
“We have known & believed the love God has for us…we love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:16,19
I know now what I had not known; I believe now what I struggled to believe. Though his quiet voice faded in the distance, I walked away confident in the love of my king, who loved me, who pursued me, who found me. One day soon, I will be his and he will be mine. I will stand before him, a bride who has prepared herself for his return. I will wait in purity and holiness for him to come. Because I have tasted his love, and now I am satisfied.
I heard his voice yesterday. And He said that he loved me.
A Flame in the Dark 