Resting in the Banquet of His Love
📖 Devotional Inspired by Charles Stanley
"Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down in his shade with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love." — Song of Solomon 2:3-4
From Longing to Living in Love
Many believers spend years longing for God's love, yearning to experience His presence as if He were distant. They sing hymns pleading to be drawn closer, unaware that they already dwell in Christ. The door has been opened, the feast prepared, and yet some hesitate at the threshold, desiring what is already theirs.
Imagine a weary traveler standing outside a great hall, peering in through its open doors. Inside, a banquet is spread with an abundance of rich food, prepared for him. But instead of stepping in, he lingers at the entrance, longing for the meal, unaware that his invitation is not to wish for a seat at the table but to take his seat and eat.
God’s love is not meant to be admired from a distance. It is meant to be enjoyed, rested in, and lived out. The cross of Christ was not the beginning of a search for love but the declaration of its eternal certainty. "God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him" (1 John 4:16).
We have not been called to a life of merely desiring peace, joy, or security in Christ—we have been placed inside the banquet of His fullness. “I sat down in His shade with great delight” (Song 2:3). We do not strive to attain His love. We dwell in it. “Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13:1).
The Reality of His Banner Over Us
The love of Christ is not earned through obedience, nor does it waver with our failures. It remains as steady as the One who secured it. Our role is not to strive for what is already given, but to live in the joy of its reality.
Jesus said, “As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you; abide in My love” (John 15:9). The call is not to strive, but to abide—to rest, to trust, to rejoice in what is already ours. When we yield to this truth, we cease grasping for what is already in our hands.
So let us not merely desire Christ’s love. Let us dwell in it, rejoicing in the fullness of what He has accomplished. The banner over us is love—unshaken, unbreakable, and eternal.
Prayer of Confidence in Christ’s Love
Father, we rejoice in the love You have lavished upon us in Christ. You have brought us into the banquet of grace, and we rest under the covering of Your unchanging love. No longer do we seek what is already given, nor do we stand outside longing for what is ours in Christ. We thank You that Your love is not fleeting, nor dependent on our striving, but is as steadfast as Your very nature. Our hearts are satisfied in the reality of Your presence, and we walk in the joy of abiding in You. Amen.
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