The Last Stand

The photographer paused in his tour of his stunning photographs he had recently taken in the Middle East.  One by one I was amazed at the story they told, one after another, singular and profound.  One struck me with awe.  A picture of two men walking arm in arm like a band of brothers obviously strengthened by their enjoined purpose, trekking in unity.  The photo captured in that one moment a slice of time with high import.  At first blush, you might not think this was anything odd.  Two people walking out into the street with laughter on their faces, joy bubbling from their soul. But these were not just any two people:  one was an Arab, one was a Jew.  In today's world to say that is a paradox would be a huge understatement.  Rival enemies.  Centuries of inbred hatreds at odds with the one common element that could stop fear and violence cold and then with utter contempt cast it into outer darkness.  Something that cannot be fully punctuated by articulate speech, but exemplified in the life of one simply poured into another by the rich, sweet nectar of divine fruit of the Spirit of God. 

Love.

I thought to myself, wow, there it is.  Loving one another.  Who would have thought?  Two Middle Eastern friends who individually chose to walk in righteousness refusing to look the other way or shun each other when opposing religious views and conflicts blocked their way.  They held out a hand of genuine respect and love in friendship refusing to give evil even one scintilla of a foothold.  That one friendship embodied an erasure of centuries of bigotry and violence, all held fast in a fragile envelope of righteous love.

Inside I was ecstatic that an Arab and a Jew had decided to take the ultimate life challenge.  To love one another no matter what odds they faced.  But as the evening progressed I was faced with a firmly-held bigotry of my own and, when confronted with it, I was shocked.  I listened as a friend discussed his personal religious beliefs that ran contrary to my own.  I have always had the highest regard for this person and how he challenged me to be rise strong in the Lord.  His passion for the Lord was undeniable.  His fervor to serve God in ways that I knew I had yet to express was infectious.  I hadn't thought I had a religious spirit that rose stiffly in stone-cold arrogant pride, but the Lord graciously exposed it to me -- not to condemn, but that I might repent before Him.  This friend was explaining how he wore "holy garments" (something I didn't know at the time) and that he felt they were no different than a Jewish man wearing a kippah.  Yet, here I was realizing that the way he served the Lord in the denomination of his own choice -- a matter of the heart -- was causing me to lock myself in a prison of my own making.  I had swathed his whole denomination with a battering ram of locked prejudice.  I still disagree with their tenets, but it made me realize that "throwing out the baby with the bath water" is not God's choice at all.  He has a timing for every person.  Each life is different, each holds a diversity of expectations that the Lord has designed for each one.  Singular in beauty and unique.   His ways are not our own and every day is a startling and profound revelation to punctuate that point.

Division runs rampant throughout the globe -- no matter if Jewish, Christian, secular or pagan.  There are sections that decry they are the favored group or they have the market on God's voice or revelation.  God does not look at us as separate groups but only as those who love and serve Him and those that don't.  But even those that don't, who chose to walk another path, He staunchly and adamantly refuses to leave His place where He was left standing.  He remains in His place waiting for that beauty to expand that only He has right to embrace:  the openness of a man's heart. Too often we rush in to try to baptize one another with our beliefs believing that if they live "our way" then they are safe.  Actually, we may block, divert or even tragically abort what God had in mind for that person in our insistence that others walk in our path.  As Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, "Jesus himself did not try to convert the two thieves on the cross; he waited until one of them turned to him." 

Our hearts are off limits to each other.  We are not allowed to trifle them, stifle them, dominate or challenge with guilt like a sword trying to coerce upon another any cherished dogmatic belief.  Hearts are a precious commodity and the Lord does not take kindly to abuse or bruising of the heart of one another.  He told us the commandments are summed up in this:  love of and to God and love of and to one another.  Not feigned or played in pantomime.  It simply is the way He loves us and that is how we are to treat one another.  

In the parchment of His love He explains this extravagant love.  "Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.  Let all that you do be done with love."  Prophets, Bible scholars, rabbis, and pundits all point to an impending financial crisis that will cripple the world.  Countries crippled by debt are crumbling into a financial abyss while huge crowds incited by evil hatred and violence gripped in a frenzy the likes of which the world has never seen continue to hold sway in a global court of high treason.  These are times.  Perilous times.  We are not to retreat.  We are to hold fast.  People are betraying one another, headstrong as granite, haughty and proud, yelling demands like brandished swords slashing others with arrogant and brutal words.  People are yearning for what the Lord demands of us.  Love. 

Let me make a bold statement.  I am a American, but I am not defined by my government.  I am defined by the Lord I love and serve.  I passionately love the Lord, but I am not to be segregated by others if my conviction does not match another person's closely-held belief.  Our hearts belong to the Lord and not ourselves.  We are to stand together with the utmost respect and unwavering integrity with that which the Lord provides:  love unsheathed as a weapon of righteousness.  Its cutting edge is  sharp.  It casts out fear and bathes the soul in soothing oil from the robes of God.  And then with a softened hand of grace extended says, I will stand with you.  I will love you.  I will cherish you. 

Standing halfway is not to stand at all.

A good example of this is standing with Israel.  They are God's chosen people.  He has brought them back to their land.  It is their right.  They have fought for it and they have won it with God's miraculous provision.  It was spoken of long ago by the prophets that they will return and they have.  There is growing anti-Semitism in the land.  Its voice cannot be denied because it is rising in volume, aimed once again at the Jews, God's chosen ones.  But it is also aimed dead center at those who love God and have chosen to stand right beside them -- the Christian people.  Not so long ago Christian people refused to speak up when they saw and heard evil rising.  They turned their backs and thought that maybe it would just go away and they could continue with they were doing. 

It cannot happen this time.  We cannot stick our heads in our denominational (or non-denominational or church group) and deny what is going on any longer.  These are end times.  And end times demand extraordinary stances of truth and courage.  We are demanded to love.  Cross our theological borders and stand firmly for righteousness.  Mix our religious beliefs?  Never.  But we can hold hands of love standing together against evil.  Romans 14 puts it this way:  "Who are you to judge another's servant?  To his own master he stands or falls.  Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.  One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike.  Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.  He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord, and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord He does not observe it ... none of us lives to himself and no one dies to himself.  For if we live, we live to the Lord and if we die, we die to the Lord.  Therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's."



We cannot let evil run roughshod over our lives, our fortunes or our sacred honor.  Not this time.  Not this year, not next year, nor the year after that.  We will let our voices be heard in loud shouts of love.  We will not have another holocaust.  We will not have ovens at the ready for human bodies for whom God gave His only son.  We are told to walk in shoes of peace.

Recently I read again Corrie TenBoom's story, The Hiding Place.  Corrie's sister Betsie always prayed for everyone, especially the tyrant guards.  Her heart was the heart of God who aches and yearns for all to come to know Him.  It was her one statement that has resonated with millions that still speaks today, "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still."  Even in the stench of the pit of hell she was able to evoke love to its full extent.  Standards of evil must be rooted out and eradicated by those who have the temerity when having done all to stand have stood for the King.

Today I listened once again to the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah.  It never fails to bring tears to my eyes.  Every time the refrain is heard my spirit soars as it reaches towards the Creator who made me, the one Who holds my heart in His hand.  It says to me we will worship our precious King.  We will serve Him at all costs.  We will love our fellow man no matter where and who.

"Who will rise up for me against the evildoers?  Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?  Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul would soon have settled in silence.  If I say, 'My foot slips,' Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up.  In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.  Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law, have fellowship with You?  They gather together against the life of the righteous and condemn innocent blood.  But the Lord has been my defense and my God the rock of my refuge.  He has brought on them their own iniquity,  and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; the Lord our God shall cut them off."  (Psa. 94:16-23)

This is not the time for petty arguments.  We can either walk in unending strife or in shoes of peace.  This is the time for action.  It's our last stand.  The stand for love.

Dinner with a King: A Royal Invitation

The pencil scratches the paper as the list is made:  eggs, cinnamon, canned pumpkin, sugar, turkey, stuffing, celery.  Each day the list is enlarged as plans are made for a table that will be groaning with the abundance of bounty.  The silver is polished until when looking down at the large platter, you can see yourself as a bad image from carnival mirrors.   Linens are ironed till edges are crisp, ready to snap to attention for those who  have come to dine. 

Invitations are interesting things that evoke polar opposite reactions:  either gladness that a loved one will come or disgust with a desire that it could be tossed in the round file with a heave-ho, such as a "request" to appear for an IRS audit or jury duty that comes right on the very day you expect your guests to arrive.

There's one invitation that is the most coveted of all.  Right in the midst of life at its busiest or worst, when things are flying at us with accelerated speed, truth is rare, lies are the seeming normalcy standard and we think we can't take one more arrogant bully stuffing their anti-God, anti-everything views -- there it is.  An invitation. 

But not just any invitation.  One before you where you didn't expect it.  Right in the middle of your life.  In the center street where all the shouting voices and demanding schedules and vying for your attention intersects.  The traffic light is now solid red.  Everything and everyone has ceased.  Your eyes rest on something in the middle of that intersection.  A table.  A table set with service for two.  A marble table inlaid with solid gold.  Crystal glistening in colors you've never seen.  Ornate silver with filigree etched with your initials.  A glistening white place card in elegant script with your name in exquisite pattern and beauty.  Someone has taken a great deal of effort and outrageous expense to invite you to dine.  But just who and, better yet, why?

He's a king.  But not just any king.  The King of all Kings.  Jesus Himself.  Another king long ago penned a beautiful song about this experience.  He explained that the Lord invited him to dinner.  And obviously he accepted because in his Jewish experience he explained it this way:  He made the dinner.  He poured the wine and then anointed me simply because He loved me.   Because of that,  I will follow Him anywhere.  I live where He lives.  I'll go where He wants to go and do what He wants to do.  I cannot do anything else.  I am smitten by His love.  That's what Psalm 23 is all about.  The essence of a God that pursues us, a heavenly seduction of grace. 

There is a Jewish tradition called Havdalah where a cup of wine runs over onto a saucer underneath.  It symbolizes sufficient enough to fill one's own needs and that of others.  A prayer is given that the expression of hope that life's goodness and bounty will be as abundant as the wine that is being blessed.  In Temple times when the burnt offerings and peace offerings were made an entire container of  wine was poured onto the altar.   It was an offering of thanksgiving, a praise to the Lord of Lords who always provides for our needs and, through us, others.  Kiddush in Hebrew means designation, demarcating a person, place thing or time for a higher purpose.  Also, when a guest is in a home and the host pours wine for the guest if the host wants to show high favor, acceptance and blessing, he will overflow the cup.

The new Thanksgiving season is here.  A time to enjoy family and friends, to be thankful for the bounty the Lord has given.  The harvest time is here.  Many are turning to the Lord in numbers unheard of before.  This is the time when the Lord will appear to all and bring us into His kingdom.   He has done a lot of labor in the harvesting.  But really -- the cream of His crop .... is you.

Be blessed this season.  Embrace His acceptance and love as not just a nice warm fuzzy feeling, but a revelation of the gift of eternal life for you.  He paid an enormous price for you because you are worth that much.  You are a treasure of His heart.  You are worth every stripe, every piece of silver, every abuse and torture He endured.

Look.  His invitation is there.  Right there at your fingertips.  You may have said no before or you may have embraced His offer.  Whichever it is, the time is extremely short.  The call has gone out.  It is a royal invitation.  It cannot be ignored or treated with indifferent procrastination any longer.  It's your choice.

It's time for dinner.

The True Planned Parenthood

It can be discouraging, even daunting.  Verbal assaults that assail from every angle.  School bullies, workplace harassment, families at odds, even those who you thought were friends tear at the fabric of the soul.  Days like that bolt down a soul with weighted chains.  Some come through it, though not unscathed.  Others are encased in a mire of words that have bogged them down to nearly unrelenting paralyzation to move forward with courage.  Words can soothe or they can be hurled with such force and vengeance to abort even the staunchest braveheart.

No one said days like these would be easy.  Even today in the middle of a town square or a city street with signs blazing and red hot vehemence here are voices that scream their so-called proclaimed rights to advantages they feel they deserve.  In their disdain for those who work to support their families with values and strength, they long to abort the way of life of those that ordain their steps with truth, courage, and old-fashioned work.  They flaunt their arrogance at Americans who look in the face of fear and don't flinch.  Not one inch.  They are the ones that will not budge at the hand of an economic abortion doctor who thinks that Communism, socialism, and the death of democracy is a healthy thing for a nation that is already teetering on the brink of an evil social abyss.  With unswerving courage and a blazing fire of faith, they show the world every day there are ones who walk with integrity, righteousness and white hot truth.

There is one parent, though, that will not be denied, the One who will pluck His children from the hands of those who would try to pry them from their destiny and abort the plan of the universe.  It's the Lord Himself, the one true God.  He gave His Son with a high price so that he could claim His children as His own.  No one will chase them from the planet.  They may be imprisoned, maligned, slaughtered, denied, harassed, and assaulted verbally and/or physically but one thing is absolutely and irrevocably true:  He is coming to get His children and His word will be the last word.  His word settles it all.  His words that are not convoluted, filled with half-truths or flat-out lies.  They will not be ignored or disobeyed.  All will know and all will have to bow their knee to the one that will have sovereignty.  Complete and full.

You see, He planned it all.  He planned you.  He planned the way you are right now.  You may think that because of situations in your life that everything has gone downhill at full tilt.  Maybe you don't have a job, your marriage may have fallen apart, your family may be in alienation with unforgiveness like cancer that has eaten your soul to the very marrow of your bones.  The ache of defeat and depression is very real, the outlook grim on all counts from the nation, from your individual life, and even from what you believe is a God that hasn't been listening in a very long time.

I'm here to tell you this: You are planned.  You are valuable.  You are immensely loved.  Far beyond what you can even imagine.  He has seen every struggle, observed every tear, heard every sigh and cry of your heart.  He is listening.  Cry out to him. You are His plan.  He will never abort you.  He will never tear you out of His heart.  You will never be an after-thought, an "oops" or ignored.  You are precious in every way.

Remember this:  In John 16:27 it says, "The Father Himself loves you dearly..."  That's a red letter edition of love.  The one that speaks right to the heart.  It's not an appeal to try to assuage you to believe simply because it's a "religious thing."  In a world that's gone crazy and nuts, this is the real deal.  It's plain and simple truth.  It's right.  Without hidden and crooked agendas.  It brings peace when nothing else can.  It's His word to you today.

You are planned.  Let Him be the parent to you He has always desired.  Give your heart to him unconditionally, without a Plan B.  Throw away the doubts, the weird words that fly out there ... this is the day.  This is the moment He says to you -- and me, too -- "Come!  Be a part of the family, a nativity into the family of God."

You'll never regret it, not even for one ripe second.  You see, you are in the plan ... conceived right there in the Father's heart.

It's Rosh Hashanah 5772 -- Happy New Year!

It's the Jewish New Year this week, Rosh Hashanah.  The Ten Days of Awe begin, the time for repentance, which end with the Day of Atonement. Peering into the looking glass of God's magnificent forgiveness is an endless pool of grace into which we are privileged to gaze.  In Jewish teaching it is the anniversary of the creation of man, a time that God celebrates us.  What a thought.  It's a day to say thank you for the prerogative of enjoying God's blessings and benevolent forgiveness, giving us a chance to start anew, afresh, awash with His closeness of Spirit breathing into us His passion and love.  It is also the Feast of Trumpets when shofars resound throughout the air pronouncing...

... the coming monarch.  His Royal Majesty, Jesus Christ.  Jewish teachers have taught, "Do you know what tomorrow evening is? Tomorrow will be Rosh Hashanah, and among Chassidim the night of Rosh Hashanah is called 'Karanatzia Nacht.'"  Coronation night.

(Selah!)


The crowning ceremony of the King of Kings.  It's not far off.  He's coming.  Lately I have heard, "Oh, but many things have to happen yet."  Hum.  Well, will you personally know the minute or the hour or the day?  Will you know every detail, every fulfillment and you can say with finality and infinite wisdom that NOW is the precise moment and fulfillment and He can come any moment---well, that is, if you haven't been busy living life with all of its demands and stress it commands.  When truly would one know?  Remember this friends, he comes as a thief in the night.  When you didn't really expect it.  Just when you thought there were a "few more things that have to happen first" (or worse, secretly wishing it wouldn't be too soon because we want to do this or that).  I sense that too many in the Body of Christ have a false sense of security thinking that there is "still some time left."  We should live intimately and immediate in His presence so that at any moment (whether now or somewhere in the future) when His shofar is sounded, His voice is lifted in a shout, we will not be caught unawares.  


This is the season of the Lord, the Coronation night.  Whether He comes today or tomorrow or next week or beyond is not the issue; the extent of readiness within ourselves is paramount to being ready to walk into eternity with one breath.  Literally one breath away.  Think about it.  Truly He longs for us with a passion we can never fully understand, a longing with an intensity that is beyond description, and a love that is immeasurable.  


Long for Him.  Look for Him.  Listen for His words breathing life through you and then in the silence He Himself will listen with ardent fervor.  He'll listen for very special words that bring about this most spectacular gathering of lovers of God.  The very words He longs to hear.

"The Spirit and the Bride say ...come, King Jesus."  The coronation celebration is about to begin!  Come! 


Rosh Hashanah 5772!

For the Love of Jerusalem, Israel...the place of God's heart

I will be a ring of fire around her in My midst.

Those that desire Me will dare to 

   enter the ring and find My glory.

Those in indifference or rebellion outside

  are left cracked, barren and dry

in a wilderness where there is no water.

Streams in the deserts only flow unhindered in

  yielded hearts of need to worship Me.

Fear of Me is taught, purposely and tenaciously

   walked willingly in a lifestyle of pursuit.

The ring of My fire of praise is a covenant

  of marital love borne from a pool of blood--

a gift--a broken seal off a stoneless grave,

and the passionate, kissing flames of explosive

Spirit fire bursting forth from a hungry heart.

     Praise Me!  My love is perfect!

     Praise Me!  My joy is complete!

     Praise Me!  My service, My burden 

              is light as a feather.  

Your walls are before Me and they 

catch fire and blaze in consumption

  in the ring of My praise.

                    Rejoice!  

"For I, says the Lord, will be to her a wall of fire round about, 

and I will be the glory in the midst of her."  (Zechariah 2:5)

My Daddy Can Do Anything!

Soft sand flew up in the air and landed on the beach warmed by the sun from an expansive sky.  The sea iridescent in hues of violet and azure blues lapped at the shore.  Kevin and Marta were hard at it.  Castles with stick moats emerged from pressed sand and little crabs scurried to dodge the pudgy fingers of children at play.  They had been talking about their parents and were in a verbal dodge ball game of who was the best.  

"My mommy can bake great big cakes that look like turtles!" Marta said with childish pride.  "As big as a table!  For my birthday she made me a big, big cake.  It was a turtle.  The frosting was kinda yukky green but it tasted good."

Kevin never one to be outdone stood up in his full four-foot frame, stuck out his willowy chest and declared, "My daddy can do anything!  It doesn't matter what it is or where.  He can do anything!"

Anything.  A selah word, don't you think?  (Selah:  Hebrew for stop and listen.)

Simple as a child.  His was a trusting belief that was singleness of heart, steadfast in thought, and executed with clarity.  Faith doesn't have to be convoluted nor trust a Jello-pudding experience when push comes to shove with life's challenges.  A king once said, "Unite my heart to fear your name."  In other words, "Make me single-minded so that I can be so convinced that you'll take care of everything simply because of who You are, God.  Boy, I can't do this on my own.  I always make a muck of it.  My heart is splintered by trusting in wrong things.  Mend me, Lord."  

And "fear your name."  Know what "fear" is?  In the fear of the Lord it's simply displaying a royal protocol to approach the Lord.  It's having a reverence for His majesty.  Let me put it this way.  If I was called to court today -- the closest analogy being the Queen of England in today's parlance -- I really don't think I'd show up with shorts, a baggy sweatshirt, hair all askew, unbathed for a week smacking chewing gum.  I'd prepare myself properly to meet her in mind, heart, and speech.  I wouldn't be afraid or fearful -- but I'd certainly have respect for her and for her court.   Once I presented to her my request (if any) if she proclaimed an official edict over me and gave me the papers to prove it, I'd have no hesitancy believing it would be carried out down to the last letter.  


Thing is, the King of the universe did the same thing for you.  He prepared everything for you down to the last letter.  He paid a price for you.  A heart-stopping price.  (You're that valuable.)  And He will turn over heaven and earth if you will trust him.  He gave an edict, He pronounced a covenant over you, and gave the papers to prove it.  You're a card-carrying royal.  There's no need to worry or fret, pout or complain, whine or be depressed.  Implicit virgin trust can turn out to be your life's most surprising and valuable gift.  When all's said and done there's only one thing to say with absolute confidence:


My Daddy can do ANYTHING!  Believe it.  You have His word on it.


"For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment."  (Luke 1:37 Amplified)

Stunned by His Face ...

Ever see someone's face and you tend to stare?  Someone who maybe is more than fair of face.  A stunning beauty or a face that's ruggedly handsome.  There's a tendency to look only on the outward, to value the things on the surface that please the senses.  A hairstyle, a body type, a tantalizing smile or a curvateous statuesque frame.  Looks are fleeting.  And really that isn't what makes a person no matter what Hollywood or People Magazine may tout.  There's a real beauty that shines from the inside out that defines with precision far surpassing any cosmetic surface imagery.  The outside ultimately fades and decays as age and life accelerate at break-neck speed.

Once in awhile someone exudes radiance.  It doesn't matter if they're good looking or not.  It's that inward glow shining from the inside out when combined true virtuous character and truth can't be ignored.  Simply cannot.  You know it when they walk by.  That kind of presence commands attention without saying a word.  Ever wonder what that is?  There are righteous ones in the earth.  They carry within them the very essence of heaven, it's glory, it's power emanating all-consuming love.  It's never anything they conjured or performed on their own.  They're not some big shot that has a lot of bucks or someone that's "with it."  It's something that was given as a gift.  It's a garment of righteousness, a robe if you will, that flows from their being wherever they go.  Where did they get?

Well, there was a price to pay.  It wasn't something that just shows up in a pretty box with a bow from the UPS guy in the late afternoon.  You ever go to one of those silly exchange Christmas parties, you know, where you show up with a gift that you're supposed to exchange with someone else?  Usually those are pretty sad.  Some wise guy shows up with an old baby toilet seat as a gag.  Of course you took the time to pick out something nice out of the dresser, an extra silk scarf you wrapped in scented tissue paper or a valuable tool that you never use but figured some guy would really like to have it.  Then Bozo with that stupid smirky smile can't wait for you to open the so-called "gift" he gleefully plopped your lap.  Sigh.  But some satisfaction comes in knowing Bozo-brain will have to figure out what he's going to do with a silk scarf scented with Chanel No. 5 and then how is he going to explain that to already suspicious Mrs. Bozo when he gets home a little too late from the party.    
 
The heavenly gift exchange isn't even remotely akin. It's a gift of par excellence that extends far past all here on earth.  No exquisite diamond, certainly no monetary amount, land on a large paradise island, media fame or class or status can buy, compete, compel or demand.  It's simply the gift of the galaxies and of all time.  A unparalleled gift from a King offered in exchange for all the gunk in your life.  Now is that a deal or what?  All the sin and guilt and condemnation that life dishes out without exception to race, gender or age is handed on a goo-filled platter, He willingly takes it and calls it a fair exchange.  Wow!  Thing is, His Blood wipes it out because He Himself paid the price.  You couldn't nor will you ever.  Then at that moment He took off His robe and placed it on you.

No wonder when you walk in a room people since His presence.  It's not you; it's Him.  He entered the room with you.  So when the Father looks at you He doesn't see the goo, the gunk and the condemning heart -- He sees His son, Jesus. His righteousness.  His life.  His power.  His love.  Man, I want to live in that every day.  Don't you?  What a feeling of living free.  I don't have to "try" to be righteous.  He made me that way.  Sins forgiven.  Check.  No condemnation.  Check.  No guilt anymore.  Check.  That makes that checklist complete.  A life that is cleansed and robed in royalty.

It's not a come on.  Not fake.  Not a fairy tale or some lunatic religious jumbo-mumbo.  It's a simple thing you can do.  Take some time today to talk to Him.  Sit down and have a cup of coffee with Him.  Tell him your heart.  You can trust Him.  He won't let you down.  Not like others that have done it repeatedly in the past.  I know there's been people in your life that caused real hurt, the ones that didn't fulfill, the ones that couldn't even hear the heartbeat of your concern let alone understand what you were feeling.  But He is different.  This King listens.  I mean, really listens.  Even the parts that are unspoken in your heart of hearts.  You may have had a rough day where it seemed no one wanted to hear your words and they were carelessly tossed as trash in the ditch.  Take some time in the secret cafe.  A place where there's a warm corner that He's reserved just for the two of you.  You'll find the exchange is exquisite.  The ring He sets on your finger will be a symbol of His love for you, which is infinite.  Never ending, in purest gold, with diamonds and rubies set in prisms of light.  The robe He gives is royal.  You're of the heavenly royal family.  A prince among mere men; a princess among mere women.  He's back there in the corner waiting for you at a table exclusively reserved for two.

Hidden in the secret place of His presence warmed by the breath of His Name,

Safe in the hand of His authority worn down by life's thorns ... I came.

Blindfolded to natural senses He illumined by the Holy Spirit's dawn,

Rising brilliant in revelatory wonder now all imperfect understanding is gone.

In the pavilion of expansive wonder staring up in this secret dome and its gates,

In awe I gaze at the splendor of heaven and look on His beautiful face.

Silenting dumb and numbing fears, impervious to doubts that assail,

Deeply I breathe in His presence exhaling the anointing that impales--

All unbelief that dared to be present now run in confusion and haste;

Till all that's left standing in this secret pavilion--is the Spirit embracing me by Grace!

"...fear not, Abram, I am your shield, your abundant compensation, and your reward

shall be exceedingly great ... and He brought him outside [his tent into the starlight]

and said, look now toward the heavens and count the stars...if you are able

to number them ... and he [Abram] believed in [trusted in, relied on,

remained steadfast] to the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness

[right standing with God]."

(Genesis 15:1-6)