Day 4 - Never Let Him Go
Verse For The Day
Song of Solomon 3:4
…when I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go…
…when I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go…
Easter draws me into a deeper, more personal understanding of love, one that is not just what I read of but a costly, sacrificial and unwavering love. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus stood at the threshold of His greatest suffering. Surrounded by His closest friends, yet ultimately alone, He bore the weight of what was to come. Each time He returned to them, He found them asleep (Matthew 26:40-43). His heart was heavy, His soul overwhelmed, yet He chose obedience. As prophesied, “like a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).
He took the stripes. He carried the cross. He endured the unimaginable, for me and for you.
When I reflect on this, I’m confronted with a question I used to ask: Why does God love me? But I’ve come to see that this question subtly places the burden on God to justify His love. Rather, the apt question is: How could You love me? This shifts everything. It reveals God not as one who calculates our worthiness, but as the very source and embodiment of love itself (1 John 4:10).
At the cross, Jesus answered the question of love in the most profound way. With arms stretched wide, He declared, “This is how much I love you”. His death and resurrection were deeply personal acts of redemption. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). Through His sacrifice, He brought many sons and daughters to glory (Hebrews 2:10).
My response, then, cannot be partial. Easter calls for total surrender. Scripture reminds us: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). He desires ALL of us, not fragments, not leftovers. He is either Lord of all, or not at all.
Like Ittai and Ruth, who chose covenant over comfort (2 Sam 15;21, Ruth 1:16), we are invited into a love marked by commitment and devotion. True worship is costly. It requires us to lay down our will, our plans, our pride, our lives. But in return, we gain something eternal, intimacy with Christ our Bridegroom. There have been moments in my life where I’ve experienced the quiet, restoring power of Christ’s resurrection, where what felt dead within me was revived by His presence. In those moments, I’ve realised that His love is not only something to receive, but something to hold on to, intentionally, daily.
He took the stripes. He carried the cross. He endured the unimaginable, for me and for you.
When I reflect on this, I’m confronted with a question I used to ask: Why does God love me? But I’ve come to see that this question subtly places the burden on God to justify His love. Rather, the apt question is: How could You love me? This shifts everything. It reveals God not as one who calculates our worthiness, but as the very source and embodiment of love itself (1 John 4:10).
At the cross, Jesus answered the question of love in the most profound way. With arms stretched wide, He declared, “This is how much I love you”. His death and resurrection were deeply personal acts of redemption. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). Through His sacrifice, He brought many sons and daughters to glory (Hebrews 2:10).
My response, then, cannot be partial. Easter calls for total surrender. Scripture reminds us: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). He desires ALL of us, not fragments, not leftovers. He is either Lord of all, or not at all.
Like Ittai and Ruth, who chose covenant over comfort (2 Sam 15;21, Ruth 1:16), we are invited into a love marked by commitment and devotion. True worship is costly. It requires us to lay down our will, our plans, our pride, our lives. But in return, we gain something eternal, intimacy with Christ our Bridegroom. There have been moments in my life where I’ve experienced the quiet, restoring power of Christ’s resurrection, where what felt dead within me was revived by His presence. In those moments, I’ve realised that His love is not only something to receive, but something to hold on to, intentionally, daily.
Prayer For The Day
Lord, flood my heart with the revelation of Your love. Help me to grasp its depth, its width, its length, its height (Ephesians 3:18-19). Teach me to respond with all that I am. Give me the grace to hold on to You and never let go.
Reflection
What part of your heart, soul, or mind are you still holding back? This Easter, release it. Fix your gaze on Him and hold Him close, for as long as you live.
Have a beautiful day.
Have a beautiful day.