Something that is imperative in our Christian walk is cleaving.
Cleaving to God.
I have been deeply meditating on this truth lately, and the beauty that lies behind it. God wants us to cleave to Him, in this close, ongoing, intimate, everlasting relationship.
My mind started to toy with the wonder of what cleaving actually looks like. What cleaving actually means. What the definition of cleaving, unaltered with my own ideas, consists of. God says in His word over and over and over again for us human beings to cleave to Him. I’ve always received so much deep joy and have actually cried over this because I find it to be so tender, intimate, and sweet, as well as it displays His desires in His relationship with us. God reveals Himself through the scriptures, and when we understand the truth that He desires for us to cleave to Him, it displays who He is and what He wants.
I remember the time I first came across God telling His people to cleave to Him, it was in the Old Testament. As a newborn Christian, I was reading through the Bible – and very quickly did I see of God’s desire of His people to cleave to Him. I remember the feeling of being so captivated and awe-struck by this valuable truth, as I was only a couple months deep into my relationship with the Lord Jesus and was just learning who He is, and what He is like. When I came across it, I would be lying if I said that tears did not well up in my eyes and poured onto the pages. This is my God, whom I love so deeply, and I see that He loves me deeply too. Enough for Him to desire for me to cleave to Him. Enough for Him to die on a cross to save me from my sins and give me eternal life.
So, what does cleaving mean, and what does cleaving actually look like?
To me, this is a perfect representation of how we’re to cleave to our Maker in the most important relationship we as human beings can have.
We’re made to hold onto Him.
In curiosity, I looked up the definition of cleaving, and reading it, I felt my heart become full and flooded with His love, as I took a deep breath in. Everything within me wanted to sing in love for Him and melt at the same time.
The definition?
Cleaving definition: stick fast to, adhere strongly to, become very strongly involved with or emotionally attached to (someone), to cling to a person or thing closely.
Cleaving synonyms + related: combine, connect, join, marry, mend, sew, unite, meld. Adhere: attach, cement, cleave, cohere, fasten, fix, freeze to, glue, hold fast, paste, stay put, stick like glue, unite, cleaving.
Clinging definition: fitting closely to the body and showing its shape; hold on tightly to; adhere or stick firmly or closely to; be hard to part or remove from; remain very close to; remain persistently or stubbornly faithful to something; dependent on someone emotionally.
Clinging synonyms: hold on to, clutch, grip, clasp, grasp, attach oneself to, hang on to; embrace, hug; stick, adhere, hold, cohere, bond, bind; hold to, stick to, stand by, abide by, cherish, remain true to, have faith in.
Upon reading this, everything within me exhaled a resounding YES!
And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
Deuteronomy 30:6
Really. This is exactly how we’re to cleave to God. We’re to love God with all our heart, soul, and strength. He wants us to cleave to Him, because He’s our protection. He is our Father. He gives us life. He is our steadiness. He is our safety. He is our first love. Koalas hugging trees physically resembles what it looks like to spiritually cleave to our Maker. He wants us to be this way with Him. He desires this type of close, intertwined, mended, molded together relationship. He’s in us, we’re in Him.
The Lord Jesus’ words,
“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
John 10:28
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”
John 17:21-23
And, let’s face it, cleaving to God (along with the godly husband or wife He gives us, because it is picture of Christ and His Bride) is pretty much the only thing we can cleave to that’s actually good for us. I mean, really, really good for us. It’s what we were designed for. To hold on to the One who made us and knows how many hairs we have on our head. The One who knows all our thoughts, needs, desires, wants, and yearns to fulfill them in us with Himself. The One who knows our worries, fears, struggles, hardships, downfalls, flaws, hurts, and tears, and yearns to wipe all our tears away, make our fears disappear, and heal and protect our hearts. He yearns for us to cleave to Him as His Bride. He sees and captures every tear that falls down our cheeks. He doesn’t let one tear fall without collecting it, and without knowing every single reason behind those tears. He grieves when we hurt, and he so desires to make every wrong right in our lives. He will, if you surrender your heart to Him and cleave to Him for the rest of your life.
“Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?”
Psalm 56:8
“He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.”
Isaiah 25:8
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
Revelation 21:4
He is deeply concerned with every single tear that falls down our face! He’s tender and soft with us.
When we give Him our hearts and surrender to Him, we belong to Him forever. We are cleansed by His blood at conversion and forgiven of our sins. Thus begins our lifelong cleaving to Him that will never end. At our conversion, we become supernaturally sealed with His Holy Spirit. Nothing can reverse it. In that moment, He commits Himself to closeness with you, and devotes Himself in love to you. And God would never go back on His promises. He’s perfect. He holds us, and we cleave to Him, and nothing and nobody could ever take us away from Him. He’s ours, for eternity. And we’re His, forever.
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39
“For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.”
Psalm 48:14
Oh, the deep joy and satisfaction of cleaving on to our beautiful God for dear life. Because he is life. There is absolutely nothing better than this kind of relationship with Him. Nothing better.
That said, here’s a nice cup of hot chocolate I made from scratch. It turned out so yummy and filled me with warmth.
Written by Tanya
Whatsoever Things Are True 