EXTRAVAGANT LOVE IS NEVER WASTEFUL

 Wounds are inevitable. They happen! They hurt! Sometimes they last a lifetime. We've all had them. We all have them. We may not talk about them, or even admit that we have them, but we do. No matter how silent we are on the issue, we can be guaranteed that it's not a secret. Those in our life, who we have allowed to get close enough, have seen the evidence. They have at some point brushed up against them and we have reacted with more pain than we realized we even carried. It wasn't pretty, but pain never is.

Who knows when the wounding even began? It seems, as early as the cradle. Not certain of it's origin, what date could be given for the cutting and the bruising... one things for sure...it happened...because we still flinch every time someone rubs up against it the wrong way.

Maybe it was a parent who let you down when you were much too young to understand their wounds. Maybe a teacher who made the mistake of repeating what once had been harshly spoken to them as a second grader. Maybe yours didn't come from playing dodge ball, but from the team unlucky enough to have to pick the last one standing. How about the invitation that never came or the phone that never rang? Wounds...all shapes and all sizes.

No matter how sophisticated we have become in covering them, the enemy of our soul can smell them like raw meat. Like a fly on a hot and humid day...swarming...waiting for the right time to land.  He studies us and finds the perfect relationship or circumstance that will most intricately and precisely apply the wrong pressure at the just the right time. His plan is to once again, cause the bruising to go even deeper.  If we could be objective, we could see exactly how many times he has done this in our past...but pain makes it really hard to be objective.

We would be able to count all of the numerous times he has made us feel rejected or abandoned or whispered "you're just not enough" or "how could you be so stupid?" The Word says, "we are not unaware of his schemes." The Greek word for schemes originates from the word "methodeia". This is where we get the word "method or methodical". The enemy is methodical in his delight to wound us, both strategically and ruthlessly. He takes the very "weakness: the very wounding" that he inflicted you with and then spends the rest of your life trying to cause repeated injury. He delights greatly in knowing that wounded people, wound people.

Love delights in healing those wounds and that is the reason He died on the cross. He was wounded for wounded people, like me and like you. Every time the enemy strikes again at our unhealed wounds, trying to get the pain to go even deeper, Love allows the pain for only one reason. Love allows the pain so that we will run to Him and find healing. It's like the red light on the dash of a car. It is allowed by The Lover of our Soul to show us where we have been duped. It specifically pin-points an area where we have believed the enemies lies and where we need to believe Love's truth. Love wants us healed. The enemy wants us in pain.

Who we believe will determine if that weakness will become a strength. When we can be objective enough to trust Love and recognize that a lie, straight from the pit of hell, lies at the very center of our wound...we can agree with Him and exchange that lie for His truth. To the degree we make that choice will be the degree that age old wounds will heal. It's a win-win! We win by not only our wounds being healed, but by outsmarting the enemies strategies. He looses and that my beloved is a WIN!

The Lover of our Soul is extravagant! How much sky do we really need? How many grains of sand are needed to represent His thoughts towards us? How many galaxies will never even be seen by the human eye? Extravagant is His love, but know this my beloved, He waste NOTHING! NOTHING! Every tear you've ever cried and even those you refused to let fall, He has swept each one in a jar that He guards and treasures. He keeps a book of remembrance when He hears us speaking well of Him, even those spoken in a weak whisper. Yes, extravagant is His love for us! But know this, He waste nothing. He refuses to waste what the enemy has done to us! Not for one moment has our pain inflicted by the enemy ever been missed on Love's radar. He takes what the enemy has devised for our devastation and He turns it into the opportunity for our deliverance. He makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose. It is His purpose that we prove the liar to be a liar. It is His purpose that we allow the pains of our wounds to execute judgment on the one who inflicted them. He waste nothing! The very thing the enemy uses to bring you death, He uses to bring you life...Extravagant Love! Yes, extravagant!