Ambrose.J. Chakre
At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws. Psalm 119:6
In every relationship intimacy is always desired and this intimacy we speak and write of is not of the flesh but of the Spirit. When the word relationship is uttered an intense feeling of anticipation captivates us from within and yes it is as you think and will be in the way it is destined for. To start with it was for the purpose of relationship that we were created and the intense feeling of satisfaction will also be determined by whom we love and by how we love. It is in the truth, I state that marriage is honorable and relationship is desirable but what tops all of this is our marriage to Christ. For all the events of our lives there were moments of holiness and unholiness and I trust the good will outweigh the bad ones when Christ brings every of our deed into judgment. Just as there is a time for everything it is our moments of worship which gives us so much satisfaction in honoring the One we love.The Scripture gives us numerous illustrations of the love, faithfulness and devotion of the saints who loved God. The most notable was David’s devotion to God, even in having eight wives, the worship he gave to God was never compromised. In one of his high moments, when the Ark was bought to Jerusalem, David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might. However, the woman who watched him from a window began despising him in her heart. This was what happened, on his return Michael the daughter of Saul confronted him by saying” How the King of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would.” To this accusation David justified his stance by saying this to her “ It was before the Lord who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel- I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in high honor.” (2nd Samuel 6:14,16,20,23 ) The confrontation was heavy and she paid a heavy price for her error bearing no children to him to the day of her death ( V23 ). Holding their babies their wombs bore and their breast nursed is the desire of married women but sadly the satisfaction she desired could be hers. The relationship was not enjoyed and her shoulder couldn’t feel the hands of the man who was admired by thousands. This is what sin results in but for us who are God’s bride we will fear no sin as we commit no evil.
The stance of David’s relationship to God was of a higher degree and he always did what was most important. Every word of his psalms depicted love, faithfulness and intimacy with God and it is what every son and daughter of God must be established in. the acts of his ways was awesome,, no matter how close he was to anyone else, his pure devotion to Christ always came first. Studying the history of his life, we see the ups and downs, the highs and lows but what exclusively set him apart from many men and women was his passion for God. The Psalm states thus “In the night I remember your name, O Lord, and I will keep your law. I will praise the Lord who counsels me; even at night ,my heart instructs me. ( Psalm 119:55 ) ( Psalm 16:17 ) This is the worship God desires and to truly love God we must completely forsake sin. It takes passion to love and commitment to desire love. Every past acts of our worship are memorable and it is our desire for our worship to get better, to rise higher till it reaches God. Remember, in worshipping a pure and holy God our lives must be free from sin and our commitment must be exclusively to holiness. The dark stories of our lives are of the past and the future histories of our lives should be brighter than the rays of the sun. This poem “Bride of Holiness” which I wrote prior to writing this reveals the uncleanness of our hands and it speaks of the glorious future of God’s wife which is what we are. The lines to the sacred writings reads thus
“When you called me,
I was not pure;
Neither was I clean in love-
Reaching out mu defiled hands to you,
I felt I was called to be pure-
Deserving not your love,
My hands felt your nail pierced hands;
Would I not understand your pains
I I loved you?
When you called me,
I was not holy;
Neither was I faithful in love;
With every sinful stain in me
I need you to love, cleanse
And to accept me as your own;
The night you spoke to me,
I cried over every sins I ever committed;
Pointing out my every sin, error and deception
That night was a night of repentance,
A night I shall never forget-
From what I was, to what I am
And will be,
The power of your truth is my desire;
Just as you called me to be yours,
I am your wife, your church
Your holy Bride;
Help me to be holy
Just as you are holy
May my spirit await you in holiness-
When you call me, I will answer-
You are the answer.
You are the God of holiness.”
This is what the revelation is and though our past sins may be as dark, the light of God’s countenance are greater than our guilt. For just as what holiness is to God, we are to his passions- the passion to love, care and to be holy. ( It is only by the Holy Spirit that we can worship God .)
The moments of our worship must be filled with the light and the glory of God’s countenance and it must be pursued till its desire is achieved. God desires passion and intimacy of his Bride and it is only in the Spirit that we will be able to rise higher in worship. The moments we spend with God are the moments which will raise us up on the last day. Every details of our deeds, acts and ways are in the record and it is our tears which counts and matters most. So if there are sins to be confessed let it be confessed and if there are evils to be renounced let it be renounced. This is what God desires of us and let us come to the cross of Christ in repentance. Just as I stated earlier, some of our moments were holy, while the others were not. Let us think of how we should live and put our trust completely in the light while we have it. God’s people must always live in the light.
N:B: The theme “ Devotion at Night“ refers to the nights and moments of worship we give to God. It teaches of the importance of godliness among all of God’s children. And though the word night is often used, we are not of darkness and since we are of the light even when it is dark we will always be brightened by what is in us. In addition to this God ‘s promise to us is that even if we die we shall not die but live to see the greater glory awaiting us in the holy Kingdom of God. Holy passion is expected and our moments must be holy.
