Sometimes we think we have to do everything that God requires of us in order for us to feel loved by Him. Yet the Bible states,
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” {Romans 5:8}
In truth a little effort on our part goes a long way with the Lord. As long as we’re coming to Him with all of our hearts, that’s what He cares about most. If we’re being honest with Him in our weaknesses and in our desires to please Him, even when we fail He loves us still.
Apostle Paul wrote,
“So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.” {Romans 9:16}
Which means it’s not about how much you can do for God and how much you can impress Him with your righteous acts, it’s about having a relationship with the Lord. When you have a real honest relationship with the Lord He is always for you even when you’ve failed. This race is really Him doing His work in us and us just following Him.
Yes there are going to be days that you’re not going to feel like following. Sometimes you’re going to feel overwhelmed and discouraged by all the righteous demands you feel God requires of you. Yet God’s grace is still there for us. That’s what makes Him so wonderful, because He is faithful in His love for us. He doesn’t just love us when we’re pleasing Him and we’re doing what He desires for us to do. He loves us still, even when we don’t want to keep going anymore. The important thing is to keep talking to Him no matter what happens, even when you feel like you have nothing to say. Keep talking. Even when you feel just plain miserable and unhappy and don’t feel like talking to Him, talk to Him anyway. Talk to Him through your feelings. Let your feelings dictate what you would like to say to Him. He wants us to come to Him with all of our heart and soul anyway, so having our emotions dictate what we want to say to Him is actually one of the things He desires for us to do. He doesn’t want us coming to Him with memorized prayers and lists. He’s not a robot after all, He has feelings too. Remember we are created in His image. So if you have feelings, so does God. Especially God. He’d rather have us talk to Him with our emotions than talk to Him with dead memorized prayer lists.
This is often how I come to the Lord when I don’t know what else to say to Him. I come to Him through what I am feeling at the moment. I let my emotions dictate what I want to say to the Lord. If I feel dead in my feelings toward the Lord I let Him know, even if it’s just in my mind because I’m too dead to talk out loud to Him. I tell Him,
“I don’t know what to say Father. I just feel so dead in my soul. I just feel so far away from you. Please help me.”
As long as we can keep our line of communication open with the Lord, we’re good. It doesn’t have to be this powerful prayer meeting feeling all the time. We’re humans, we go through sorrow and pain, joys and victories. Our emotions change because of the world we live in. We’re not perfect yet. But as long as we’re coming to the Lord with all of our hearts and are being honest with Him, we’re good. That’s what matters. That’s what He desires.
The psalmist expressed it this way,
“Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from Him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.” {Psalm 62:1-2}
I think sometimes we forget that God is supposed to be the one that comes and lifts us up. We think we have to be cheerful all the time to come to His presence. But really we must have Him come and make us happy, because so often times we can’t do it for ourselves. That’s the point of God. That’s why He came and died for our sins, so He can save us and lift us up from our miserable selves. What’s the use of Him being God if He can’t lift us up? When the Bible states that king David encouraged himself in the Lord we automatically think David did the encouraging himself. We forget that often his prayers were,
“Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me.” {Psalm 38:21}
Sometimes we think we have to pretend to God about being positive and happy. We think it would displease Him if we come to Him with a long face. But what is the point of God being our strength and the lifter of our heads, {Psalm 3:3} if we always come to Him happy? What’s the point of this verse if we’re not supposed to look to Him for our help and encouragement?
“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.” {Psalm 121:1-2}
Having a relationship with God is not about us being happy and being perfect all the time. It’s not about us checking our righteous lists and making sure we’ve done all that God required of us. So often we come up with our own lists of what we think God requires of us, yet God never told us to do them. We overwhelm our own selves when God did not even ask us to do those things. He said in His word that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. {Matthew 11:30} When we’ve learned to know His voice, He will be the one to instruct us what to do. He will tell us what to say and do and where to go. Our walk with Him is about being open and honest with Him in all aspects of our lives. When we feel happy and sad, when we’re being good and bad, and when there’s nothing going on, we are open to Him. We come to Him and talk to Him all the time in all the seasons of our lives. It’s a following of the heart with God and not about following of our righteous to-do lists. It’s walking by faith not by sight. {2 Corinthians 5:7} It’s about serving Him in the spirit and not in our flesh. When we’ve learned to hear His voice and follow it, everything will be easy. God’s grace is sufficient. This walk with Him is not about us being perfect, it’s about us allowing Him to do His work in our hearts and us learning to know His voice and following Him.
“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” {2 Corinthians 12:9}
“That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” {1 Corinthians 2:5}
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” {Romans 8:1}
“And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” {Philippians 3:9}
“And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.” {Jeremiah 29:13}
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” {Proverbs 3:5-6}
Prayer
Father, I thank You so much that Your love is faithful. Even when I don’t feel so great about Your love for me and don’t feel so confident and deserving of Your love, You love me still.
Please Jesus help me Lord to trust in Your love for me, to have faith in Your great love for me, that no matter what happens You love me still and Your grace abounds. Help me to keep talking to You and to keep coming to You. Help me to keep sharing with You my struggles of trying to walk with You, and trying to please You. For after all Lord, You said You will never leave me nor forsake me. And You said without You I can do nothing. So I need You always. Please Jesus let Your will be done in my life. Help me to keep loving You and trusting You in my life even when I don’t feel like I can go on anymore and I don’t want to go on anymore. You will be there Jesus. You will help me Lord because Your love is faithful.
I ask all these things in Your sweet and most powerful name, Jesus. Thank You, Father. Amen.
Image by Karl Egger from Pixabay
Rp10/2017
