barrenness of love

there are some seasons where love is easy--out of an overflow of emotion. Your heart is tender, You feel His nearness, His presence, and Your heart is easily moved. you are romanced and wooed into the pleasures of loving Him. everything makes sense, and You are so in love with Jesus! a season of glory, you say.

there are other seasons where love is difficult. love becomes a labor, a decision, a discipline. it becomes a choice of the mind. love now feels like a dry and weary land where there is no water (ps 63), and you do not feel anything. the pains and unbelief of the reality of a distant, invisible God set in on you, and love becomes hard. you wonder how long this desert season will last, and what you have done wrong to deserve such an ill fate.

praise God for seasons where love is easy.
praise God even more for seasons where love is difficult. the barrenness of love is where the gold of our heart is refined. to say yes to Jesus in the barrenness of love is to know that He brings us into just the right season to cultivate our love for Him. that in the end, we may stand before Him and say with confidence, "we have loved You well!"
and to hear Him say, "well done, my beloved one. your love has been real, your love has been true. look, i wrote it all down in my book. let us now enjoy eternity together."