Hearing His Voice #265

My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.

Romans 9:2-3

The student lived in a culture that was hostile to the truth of God, yet she burned with passion for her people. As she spoke of those who were longing for fulfillment yet still rejecting Christ, she overflowed with zeal. “God puts His jealousy in your heart for others,” she said, perhaps not realizing that some people don’t experience that sort of harmony with God’s heart. “I want to go to heaven, but not without these people. God keeps telling me, ‘They are yours, and one day they will accept Me.’”

That’s essentially the same message God gave Paul about his Jewish brothers and sisters. Centuries earlier, God had told Moses that His name was Jealous (Exodus 34:14), and He inspired Zechariah to convey how intensely He burned with jealousy for His people (Zechariah 1:14; 8:2). The language is strong, fierce, passionate. God has fiery emotions for those He loves, and He plants that fire within those who love Him in return. This “voice” goes beyond words. He is a zealous and jealous lover of human hearts, and He is relentless in His pursuit of their love. The hearts of those who know Him well begin to beat with His, synchronizing with His passions. No words are necessary for such love. The message smolders deep within the spirit.

Listen intently for those messages. Deep passions that connect with God’s purposes—not necessarily with sterile theological descriptions of Him, but with His nature as described in His Word—are certainly from Him. He has spoken to His people most deeply by giving them powerful desires that line up with His will. Like Jeremiah and the fire in his bones, people with God’s passions are driven by a powerful but inaudible voice that can’t be ignored. They have heard a heartbeat that words can never describe.

Lord, give me Your passions. Fill me with Your desires. Let me overflow with Your most intense, relentless dreams for Your people. Drive me with Your heartbeat.