Devotion: 11/15/10

God Won’t Relent By Cathi Harp

Scripture:

Song of Solomon: 8:6-7 “Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for

love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It

burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot

quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away.”

Devotion:

Have you ever thought that God wants us to spend time with Him so much that He

is jealous of the things we put in our lives? Misty Edwards wrote a song titled:

“You Won’t Relent” that speaks of God’s complete love of us. Sometimes we sing

songs because we think the lyrics and music are cool, but we really don’t “think”

about what we are saying. The lyrics for “You Won’t Relent are listed below:

Lyrics: You Won’t Relent

By Misty Edwards

“You won't relent until You have it all

My heart is Yours…

I'll set You as a seal upon my heart

As a seal upon my arm

For there is love that is as strong as death

Jealousy demanding as the grave

Many waters cannot quench this love

Come be the fire inside of me

Come be the flame upon my heart

come be the fire inside of me

Until You and I are one”

To not relent means: to not soften in feeling, temper, or determination. This

song speaks of God’s determination to not stop pursuing us until we give all of

ourselves to Him. What is your relationship with God like? Have you given

Him a little of yourself, but let the things of this world capture

your attentions? Do you love Him so much that you have allowed

Him to brand His name on your heart to show that you belong to

Him?

Signet rings were used by kings to show their “approval and authority”.

They would seal a letter with wax and press the signet ring in the wax.

A person who carried the king’s signet ring and/or a document that

bore the mark of a signet ring showed that the document or action being taken was

authentic and carried the authority of the king. If we are “sealed” by Jesus, the

only true king, we walk in His authority.

In the movie “First Night”, King Arthur’s knights wore a small shield that bore the

crest of the king on one of their upper arms. Every time I saw the movie, I always

thought that shield on their arm represented that their “actions” were sanctioned

by the king. Do you have Jesus’ seal on your arm that shows the world that your

“actions” are in accordance to His will?

What do you think the following lyrics mean?

“Come be a fire inside of me, come be a flame upon my heart

Come be a fire inside of me until You & I are one.”

To ask God or the Holy Spirit to be a fire inside of us can mean different things.

We continually need to have the impurities in us burned away, like when gold is

refined by fire the impurities are taken out. In John 17:21 Jesus prayed that we

would be one like He was one with the Father. The more we are refined for God

(by giving all of us to Him, and spending time in the bible and prayer), the more we

become “one” with Him. Our minds become more like His, our hearts begin to love

people as He loves them. Having God be a fire inside of us makes us “passionate”

for the things that God is passionate for.

Where is your relationship with God today? Is God pursuing you? Is He saying to

you that He won’t relent until you give Him all of you? … Your life, your love (what

you are passionate for), your time (putting HIM in the place He belongs in your

life…the #1 spot)? Are you attempting to give your all to God? Do you cry out for

Him to put HIS name on your heart, to allow Him to brand you as His? Do you

ask Him to burn away the sin and idols (things that take your attention away

from Him) in your life? Each day are you becoming more like God in what you

think and what you are passionate about? I encourage you to pursue God with

more passion than you pursue the favorite things in your life.

Prayer:

Father God, help me to choose You above all other things in my life.

Help me to grow closer to You and show me the things in my life that

pull my attention from You. Give me strength to make changes in my

life when needed so things aren’t put in the place that You alone

deserve to be in.