I was recently with some friends talking about ministry and sharing ideas. We were encouraging each other, and as we were talking, the phrase “spoken for” came to my mind. Normally, I would jot down a quick note, and then sometime in the next month or so when reviewing said note I would either pursue it or throw it out. This phrase, however, has been on my mind constantly ever since. I can’t shake it. As I’ve been researching and praying about it several things have come to light, and once again I am amazed at how the Lord talks to us through the most simple yet direct ways. His love chases us down and looks for new ways to overtake us daily. He is truly the creator of all things and yet still desires to take the time just for you.
As a young man growing up, when I heard the phrase— spoken for— I immediately thought of a young lady that was either engaged to be married or had a serious boyfriend. To say that she was spoken for meant that she was off limits. She was in a relationship with another gentleman, and he had let it be known that he was pursuing her and would defend that relationship at all costs. Now that does not mean that there weren’t other guys out there that were trying their best to get her attention.
I was thinking about this when I remembered the scripture my Mamaw Speer used to quote to me when I was a teenager. She would tell me that I had been set apart, and that God had laid claim on me from the moment I was born. She would say John, The bible says in 1 Peter that he has set you apart and laid claim on you. Then she would quote 1 Peter 2:8 “ But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” I have never forgotten it. I ran from it at times. I walked in the darkness for a while, and finally answered God’s call to come back into His marvelous light. But I never forgot that she had told me that God had laid claim on me, ever…. I had been spoken for….. God spoke out through His own word hundreds of years before I would ever be a thought to anyone’s mind and laid claim on me.
Sir, wherever you are and whatever you are in the middle of, you have been spoken for. God has paid the price and laid claim on you and called you His own. He has let the entire world know that he is actively pursuing you at all cost. He has already covered all the cost with the life of His own son, Jesus. He has defended His desire for a relationship with you at the ultimate cost. He has told the world that He wants you, and you have been spoken for. He has found you worthy of His love and affection. I know, affection isn’t viewed as the most manly word, but it is what it is: God’s affection. An underserved love and pursuit of relationship with you. To stand and defend your honor and cover your past. I know as a husband and a dad, I would do anything to defend the honor of my wife and children. I understand what it means to be willing to sacrifice my own dignity and honor to preserve that of my wife and children. To know that God is actively pursuing me and willing to do the same is overwhelming.
Just because you are a man does not mean you do not need to be loved. Just because you are a man doesn’t mean you don’t need to be wanted. I know we have our ways of showing and receiving love as husbands and fathers. Some of us are just plain goofy about it. There are those of us that are a little weird about it. Then, you have the men that are dying to show it but wouldn’t dare let anyone know for fear of being weak. I’ve been in all those categories at one time or another. I know that to actively love my wife means I have to pursue her. It’s not the extravagant things once or twice a year; it’s the little things everyday that let her know that I love her, and she is wanted. But it is in those everyday things that everyone else also sees that she is spoken for. She has a man and is well taken care of. I saw early on as a young single man that there are men who are married, and then there are men who have wives. The men who are married are just that; they are tied to someone else and always making excuses, and it almost seems that they are more annoyed with the one they are married to than anything. You know these guys. They are always complaining about what the wife does. You never hear them compliment anything she does. They seem miserably happy to be married. Then there are those men who have wives. Now these guys don’t always have everything together, but there is a sparkle in their eyes when they say their wife’s name. Their marriage may not be perfect, but you would never know it by the way they hold hands when they walk. What stood out to me most is that you usually knew their wives were happy by talking to their wives. I mean you didn’t have to ask if they were spoken for because all they talk about is their husband. I always told myself that I wanted to be that man. To pursue my wife in a way that I never had to tell anyone she was mine, she would gladly do that for me. This is how God pursues us. He finds new ways to show us that he loves us everyday. Without a need or want but just because He loves you. So much so that soon enough we can’t contain it. We burst with love and joy and spill over onto everyone we meet. Then the world looks at us, and they know we are spoken for….
Your deliverance, spoken for. Healing, spoken for. Provision, spoken for. Joy, spoken for. Hope, spoken for. Protection, spoken for. Life everlasting, spoken for. The Bible tells me that all His promises for you are yes and amen. You have been spoken for!!!!!!!!!
M.U.S.C.L.E. 