“In the darkness [the children of Israel] had to turn toward God with their cries, asking again and again, Are you there for me? Do you see me? Will you be there for me in the future? When new attachments need to be formed, the desert is oddly your friend. It’s where emptiness becomes fullness. It’s where we learn to ‘leave and cleave.’ “- Summer Joy Gross
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.”- Hosea 2:14 (ESV)
Summer Joy Gross concludes Chapter 2 of The Emmanuel Promise with some final thoughts about Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. Summer describes the woman’s need for love as leaving her life looking like a field hit by enemy fire. Yet, Jesus saw the Samaritan woman’s need, as He sees ours, and did not keep His distance. In addition, your need fails to scare or surprise Jesus.
Most significantly, Summer explains:
“[Jesus] created your need. Attachment is developed because a need is expressed and filled. Your cry becomes the invitation. His response builds trust. When you let your need cry out, He draws closer. Dear One, let your need become a beacon for God. A runway.”
Furthermore, Summer underscores, she loves the fact that Jesus never glossed over the aching truth of the Samaritan woman’s need. Nor did He back away from that need. Instead, Jesus met the woman in the middle of her shame, inviting the pain of her story into His presence.
In conclusion, Summer states, until fissures begin to show, we often fail to understand the level of our attachment wounds. Yet, sometimes opening that wound creates the right environment for healing.
Hence, Summer counsels:
“Friend, you may find yourself outside love, standing at the edge of a gaping cavern, or still trying to guard, fill, or escape the pit. Yet, as Eugene Peterson paraphrased John 1:14, God has ‘moved into the neighborhood.’ (MSG). Your need is not too much. . . . You are invited to cry out and watch Him respond.”
Today’s question: What desert taught you to leave and cleave? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: Inner perfection – the desire”