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Muslim

The Power and Warmth of God's Love

February 20, 2013 by Hesham Hassaballa

I first heard the song "Feel So Close to You" (sung by Calvin Harris) during my daughters' dance recital, and it had a very catchy tune. There are very few lyrics to the song:

I feel so close to you right now
It's a force field
I wear my heart upon my sleeve
Like a big deal

Your love pours down on me
Surrounds me like a waterfall
And there's no stopping us right now
I feel so close to you right now.

Yet, brevity does not preclude profundity. Given the Valentine's Day climate throughout the month of February, this song is on heavy rotation right now. The more I reflect on it, the more I cannot help but think of God and His undying love.

When I hear the lyric, "I feel so close to you right now," it reminds me of the times—which, sadly, should be more often—when my faith is strong, and I feel so very close to the Lord. When I'm in that place, I feel totally protected, totally enveloped in the Lord's presence. It acts just like "a force field." When the Lord is with you, truly, there is nothing to fear.

And, when I hear the song's narrator sing: "I wear my heart upon my sleeve/Like a big deal," it reminds me of how living in the love of God is truly a "big deal." When one is living in God's love, it gives a tremendous feeling of elation, and it is not hard to see the effects on one's face and—consequently—one's sleeve.

This lyric, however, is the key to the whole song:

Your love pours down on me/Surrounds me like a waterfall

That is precisely how God's love is: It gently pours down on us, like a soft spring or summer rain, bringing coolness and comfort, refreshment and rejuvenation, rest and relief. And after it falls down upon us, it truly does surround us "like a waterfall." But, it is not a raging, violent waterfall like Niagara. Rather, it is a soft and gentle waterfall that brings safety and serenity. It makes us feel whole, and it fuels our journey through the difficult realm of tribulation that is life on this earth.

And the song sums up the heart of the matter when it says: "And there's no stopping us right now."

For, truly, with the Lord and His love with us, there is no stopping us. There is nothing we can't do if we have our Precious Beloved walking by our side. There is no mountain too high, or sea too wide, or rain too driving or cold too bitter that will stand in the way of the Lord and His servant. The entire breadth of sacred history has borne this out, with the Prophets always winning, despite enormous odds, just as God says:

[For] God has thus ordained: "I shall most certainly prevail, I and My apostles!" Verily, God is powerful, almighty! (58:21)

It is hoped that the same can be true with us, the sinning followers of the Prophets and Messengers of God. The key is to try and remain on God's side by following His commands and principles as best we can. And when He walks with us, "there's no stopping us right now."

It reminds me of this other verse from the Quran:

If God comes to your aid, none can ever overcome you; but if He should forsake you, who could aid you thereafter? In God, then, let the believers place their trust! (3:160)

It also reminds me of the 23rd Psalm, which says in part:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)

This is because, with God and His love with us, surrounding us "like a waterfall," it's "a force field" protecting and guiding us during this life.

Would that His love always be with us forever and ever, Amen.

12/2/2022 9:09:41 PM

Muslim

An American Islam

Valentine's Day

Bible

Love

Quran

Islam

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About Hesham Hassaballa

Hesham A. Hassaballa is a Chicago-based physician and writer. He is author of, most recently, Noble Brother: The Story of the Prophet Muhammad in Poetry (Faithful Word Press). You can follow Hesham Hassaballa on Facebook.

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