God Helps me Love Him
Recently the Lord sternly corrected me. It was in the morning as I struggled to stay awake with Him and His Word. Unfortunately, struggling to spend time with God in the morning has long been part of my relationship with Him. Of course God may spend time with you other times of the day, but this is when He wants to spend time with me. I believe this is very common with God, as I've heard many ministers discuss this. God says, in the person of Wisdom, "I love them that love Me; and those that seek Me early shall find Me." (Proverbs 8:17)
The Bible calls itself a mirror. When one reads it one sees himself clearly, and how his life compares with its words. That morning I saw that my feelings toward God were improper. I realized first that I would rather be asleep. Isn't that pathetic, I would rather sleep than spend time with the Creator of everything, who loves me more than I can imagine. Then I saw that the only reason I spend time with God is to obtain things from Him (direction, money, etc.) Now I love God, and I will never say otherwise, but this reality showed that I loved His benefits more than I really love Him.
This was a difficult time of surprising clarity. I felt as much conviction from the Holy Spirit as I ever have. It would be easy not to write about this, but I believe this will help some of you. Never forget the wonderful passage about God's correction:
"And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness." (Hebrews 12:5-10)
Never forget that passage, so that you can always embrace His correction, repent, and run to His open arms. I knew that God was revealing my fault for my profit (verse 10 above). I knew that God wanted more for me and our relationship. I've heard Joyce Meyer wisely say that we must seek God's face and not His hand, I just never saw how badly I failed here. I prayed and meditated in God's presence and I heard Him. He showed me that Jesus didn't just come to restore our relationships to others; He also came to restore our relationship to God. It is natural that we don't love God properly. But, just as God, through the Holy Spirit, will help Christians obey all His instruction, He will help me love Him correctly. This was the revelation: that I needed God's supernatural assistance just to love Him correctly and that God was willing to provide this.
In the same way I can't truly change myself without God's power, I can't love God without God. And just as all of God's correction is for our good, God knows that our correct love for Him will always be best for us. What a wonderful God we serve! I know God wants our love because He loves us and wants a relationship with us, but God also wants our love simply because He knows this will be best for us. He is so loving and unselfish. He revealed my failure not to punish me, but to protect and profit me.
I can easily see all that God's done in my life. Maybe that isn't true for others, but it's sure true for me. I could easily be dead. I could easily be working a nothing job and going nowhere. In the natural I don't deserve anything I have. I can look at my entire life and see God's grace, protection and provision. I have as much reason to love God as anyone.
So I've fundamentally changed my reason for spending time with God. I previously spent time with God because everything about Him and true Christianity is wonderful, but mainly because I hoped the closer I got to Him the more I would get from Him. But, while that may be true, coming to God with that approach is not the way it works.
I now spend time with God simply because I love Him and He's wonderful. I make that declaration by faith, that this is my reason for spending time with God. God knows what I want and what I need. In prayer, by the Holy Spirit, He does lead me to pray for certain things. I know that this new position will be key to living the life God wants me to have. But this is not just a repositioning to get stuff. If I never get another thing from God, it's already enough.
Some time has passed now, and supernatural change has truly occurred. I have never woken up so easily, so refreshed and so excited for God. Every few days I must remind myself of this new position, as the cares of the world are always there. But each morning I feel God's loving presence with me as I open His Word or pray. I boldly declare that I'm going to love God properly, and I'm going to know Him as well as He can be known while in this flesh.
God is awesome. God is beautiful. God is wonderful. Those words don't begin to describe Him. There is nothing like having a relationship with Him and being in His presence. I'm done working to get stuff from Him. Now I'm going to spend time with Him just because I love Him and He loves me. His wonders will never cease to amaze, His beauty never dull, His presence never grow tiresome. No, not for eternity.
The Bible calls itself a mirror. When one reads it one sees himself clearly, and how his life compares with its words. That morning I saw that my feelings toward God were improper. I realized first that I would rather be asleep. Isn't that pathetic, I would rather sleep than spend time with the Creator of everything, who loves me more than I can imagine. Then I saw that the only reason I spend time with God is to obtain things from Him (direction, money, etc.) Now I love God, and I will never say otherwise, but this reality showed that I loved His benefits more than I really love Him.
This was a difficult time of surprising clarity. I felt as much conviction from the Holy Spirit as I ever have. It would be easy not to write about this, but I believe this will help some of you. Never forget the wonderful passage about God's correction:
"And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness." (Hebrews 12:5-10)
Never forget that passage, so that you can always embrace His correction, repent, and run to His open arms. I knew that God was revealing my fault for my profit (verse 10 above). I knew that God wanted more for me and our relationship. I've heard Joyce Meyer wisely say that we must seek God's face and not His hand, I just never saw how badly I failed here. I prayed and meditated in God's presence and I heard Him. He showed me that Jesus didn't just come to restore our relationships to others; He also came to restore our relationship to God. It is natural that we don't love God properly. But, just as God, through the Holy Spirit, will help Christians obey all His instruction, He will help me love Him correctly. This was the revelation: that I needed God's supernatural assistance just to love Him correctly and that God was willing to provide this.
In the same way I can't truly change myself without God's power, I can't love God without God. And just as all of God's correction is for our good, God knows that our correct love for Him will always be best for us. What a wonderful God we serve! I know God wants our love because He loves us and wants a relationship with us, but God also wants our love simply because He knows this will be best for us. He is so loving and unselfish. He revealed my failure not to punish me, but to protect and profit me.
I can easily see all that God's done in my life. Maybe that isn't true for others, but it's sure true for me. I could easily be dead. I could easily be working a nothing job and going nowhere. In the natural I don't deserve anything I have. I can look at my entire life and see God's grace, protection and provision. I have as much reason to love God as anyone.
So I've fundamentally changed my reason for spending time with God. I previously spent time with God because everything about Him and true Christianity is wonderful, but mainly because I hoped the closer I got to Him the more I would get from Him. But, while that may be true, coming to God with that approach is not the way it works.
I now spend time with God simply because I love Him and He's wonderful. I make that declaration by faith, that this is my reason for spending time with God. God knows what I want and what I need. In prayer, by the Holy Spirit, He does lead me to pray for certain things. I know that this new position will be key to living the life God wants me to have. But this is not just a repositioning to get stuff. If I never get another thing from God, it's already enough.
Some time has passed now, and supernatural change has truly occurred. I have never woken up so easily, so refreshed and so excited for God. Every few days I must remind myself of this new position, as the cares of the world are always there. But each morning I feel God's loving presence with me as I open His Word or pray. I boldly declare that I'm going to love God properly, and I'm going to know Him as well as He can be known while in this flesh.
God is awesome. God is beautiful. God is wonderful. Those words don't begin to describe Him. There is nothing like having a relationship with Him and being in His presence. I'm done working to get stuff from Him. Now I'm going to spend time with Him just because I love Him and He loves me. His wonders will never cease to amaze, His beauty never dull, His presence never grow tiresome. No, not for eternity.
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