Journal Notes on Saint Paul of the Cross #24
by Amy Knight
To maintain fervor of prayer, to grow in Divine Love and knowledge of divine things, solitude of your room and your corner is highly necessary, and treating as little as possible with everyone, even family, except for what is purely necessary. The rest of the time employ yourself in that holy repose of holy prayer and contemplation of God in a true annihilation and death to everything created. If you act in this way, you will be happy in time and happier in eternity. Continue your practices, as I have told you, and be secret with all, love silence and distance from all, and day and night treat with God. L230
Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
We are living in a day when corona virus has hit the entire planet with an instant fury. Our whole nation shut down within weeks and the order of the day is “do not leave your home unless you need to for an essential reason.” All businesses and schools have shut down unless deemed necessary by the government. Though it seems like all news is bad news, yet from this above quote by Saint Paul of the Cross, we can observe that God is actually helping us through this plague to find a “secret place” of prayer in “our corner”. How much He wants to commune with His Beloved that He decided to shut down the entire globe to get her attention.
My friend recently woke up hearing in her spirit an old song with the lyrics, “I will stop the world to melt with you.” She then found a scripture saying the same: “The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us…”[i] God wants us to know His nearness, His love, His intense affection for us. He will stop the world to melt with us! Oh, how sad that we His Bride are so busy that He must get our attention so dramatically; yet how loving He is to do so! He has been patiently waiting knocking at the door of our hearts for a long time.[ii] He desires that we open up to Him and dine with Him and have intimate communion. God wants us to know He is primarily a Lover who desires our love in return.
In the midst of the chaos in the world, He wants “to quiet us in His love.” He desires that we consecrate a sacred space, a corner, where we can meet together and His voice and melt with Him in love. He desires to wash away every bit of fear and dis-ease, and fill us with Himself, a victorious warrior in our midst. He wants us to know His great love with which He loves us, that all news is not bad news. Not only that, but in the midst of the unrest and chaotic world, He desires that we know that He is in our midst writing the greatest love story that was ever and ever will be written. The love story is His own story with His Bride. He is whispering words of love in our ears if we could only stop to listen. He is desiring us to come on the exciting journey of running on the mountains with Him. He is lifting us up above all circumstances and has a smile on His face and a fun adventure in His heart that will fascinate and exhilarate us far beyond anything we can imagine.
He wants us to know that His eyes are upon us, never leaving us for moment. The scripture says, “He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” He has stopped the world to “melt with us”; that is, to be in union with His Bride. He wants union. Love always desires union. Let us go into the secret garden, the corner in our room, the consecrated space, and melt with Him. Let us speak words of love to Him who paid all to have us.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you for stopping the world to melt with me. Let me see Your face, let me hear Your voice in this secret trysting place where lovers meet. Let me wake up in the night and adore You. Let me remember Your Cross and the extreme sacrifice of love to have me. Let me love You with my whole being. Amen.
[i] Psalm 46:6-7
[ii] Rev 3:20