Unfailing Love for a Runaway Bride

Where else but in Las Vegas, known as the “Wedding Capital of the World,” can you not only enjoy a yummy IN-N-OUT burger but also have an in and out wedding at a drive up window in as little as 10 minutes. We definately have some unusual wedding venues here in this city where people believe secrets are kept safe.

Along with the high rollers who hope the dice will not betray them, couples come to get married with high hopes that their love will remain faithful. What are the odds? 

When we step out to love someone, do we think of it as gambling with our emotions? Perhaps if we’ve been hurt, we do. Is there an insurance policy we can purchase for protection against heartbreak? Are we as confident we will be provided for as we are confident in saying “I do?”

On Valentines Day, I can’t help but be thankful for the faithfulness of my husband’s love for me; but, I also think about those who have lost their love recently by death, divorce, betrayal, or desertion.

I can’t help but think of those who long to be married but remain single.

Or, for that matter people who want to leave their lover . . . It seems in today’s culture, we poke fun at this . . .

. . .  Remember the song, “There Must Be Fifty Ways to Leave your Lover” or the movies How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and The Runaway Bride. Ah! Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the curtain opens for Unending Love.

I long for unfailing love! I desire love that doesn’t leave; love that doesn’t run away or give up when tempted or tried. Don’t you?

That’s what God’s love is: “Unfailing love.” We can read through the scriptures and find over 120 times where the two words unfailing and love are brought together at the altar of marriage most often describing God’s love.

In Psalm 63, we encounter David in the wilderness. He is addressing God in this Psalm with confidence in the first verse (i.e., “you are my God”). He goes on to say, “My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water (Ps. 63:1).” Can you relate Vegas friends? Even if you are not in Vegas, perhaps you know the feeling of being in the desert of loneliness and thirsting for a companion. You may even be married and still feel lonely or unsatisfied. We are tempted to give up or seek love in wrong places. David teaches us through this Psalm not only who it is we long for, but also that God’s “unfailing love is better than life itself (Ps. 63:3).”

• He teaches us that God satisfies us more than the things this world has to offer (Ps. 63:5).
• When we lie awake at night, we can meditate on God (Ps. 63:6).
• He is our helper and we can sing for joy in the shelter of His wings (Ps. 63:7).
• His security is our insurance policy from all who plot against us with their lies (Ps. 63:8-11).

When we lose our trust, we lose our love song (vs. 11). This affects our relationship(s) and is not something we can hide. I believe it’s important to remember when we have seen God at work in our lives and to reflect on where that has taken place. How long has it been since I noticed God in His sanctuary or gazed upon his power and glory (vs. 2) all around me or in the lives of others?

Maybe my relationship with God or others is best described as in and out: in when it’s all good, but out when it gets tough. Yikes! I would hope not but truth be known, this has happened a few times in my lifetime and I have had to circle back to make amends. There have been other times, I have had to escape to the shelter of God’s wings for protection and am thankful I can hold His strong right hand. We need to do what it takes to get a tighter grip on God’s hand.

God has remained faithful to His runaway bride (you can read a great example of this in the book of Hosea), but the question is; ‘am I remaining faithful to Him?’ Am I in the wilderness because my tendency is to be a runaway? Oh Church, let us return to the altar of grace and forgiveness.

God really knows ME better than anyone else and His “unfailing love is better than life itself.” I’m claiming that as a forever Valentine promise from God’s Word as the revealed secret menu to a joy filled life.