I'm writing to you as you're in doubt of God's goodness towards you. My response to this is made under the assumption that God is impartial and has no respect for our persons. In other words, He views us all as equal. What He would do for one of us, He would do for all of us. This is due to God's just and never-changing nature. What's awesome about this is that we can take hold of promises that God has made throughout history and live with the understanding that, "since God has done this in the past, He is able and willing to do this in my life as well". Even if you don't agree with me about these characteristics, please hang in there and at least hear me out.
I have to admit, the bulk of this letter is actually taken from a devotional I wrote about a year ago. I've wrestled with how to approach this scenario and what would be most beneficial up until a few minutes ago when I stumbled upon this old writing of mine. I never expected to find this, and quite honestly I don't remember writing it. It doesn't even seem like my writing style. Anyways, here is the devotional. Even thought it may seem to be slightly out of context, trust me, it is relevant to our conversation.
Think about the story of Jesus for a minute. When God himself came down from heaven in human form, very few people even noticed at first. There wasn't thunder and flashing lights... or a loud voice announcing his arrival. It was a quiet, humble entrance into the world. His arrival was revealed through relationship. Jesus was a son, His parents knew of his arrival. Then they shared the word of his arrival with those around them at the time. Sooner or later, the word spread. The anointed one's time had come. But it wasn't as spectacular as the people had expected.
In order to expound upon the magnificence of this action, please take a minute to think about the throne room as it is described in Revelation. John the revalator describes the throne room in such detail, yet it is so far beyond our imagination. God is worshiped along with Christ, for they are one, at all times. The worship has always been there, and always will be. He was willing to leave this for you. There is a glory that fills that place. There is no pain or suffering, and everything is perfect. Now, God chose to leave this throne. He left this place temporarily to die for the sake of eternal relationship with His creation, His beloved children. He did this for you.
This is amazing. The God of all Creation chose to leave the throne for the sake of His children. But realize this, when He arrived here on earth, the circumstances were not so glorious. He was born in a manger. There wasn't anything spectacular about the arrival outside of the fact that God had come to save the world, which is very spectacular, but you know what I mean.
Then think about the way Christ handled His ministry on the earth. He didn't walk around handing out money to the poor. No, there was something very different about His teaching. He broke down barriers and He strongly encouraged relationship. When He saw a crippled individual, He healed them. When he ministered to people, He sat down and talked with them. Think about the woman at the well in the book of John. He sat there and talked with the woman about her life, and then gave her what she was in need of. He got to know people and then served them out of love.
This way of handling ministry was mimicked by the apostles as well. You see, we have this ministry of reconciliation, which translates to not holding peoples' sins against them. This means that we are to love them unconditionally as Christ has and continues to love us. Think about this for a while, the King left His throne because He loved you enough to leave His glory and die for you. If we follow this example and live out of an overflow of love for others, then we will get what is at the heart of Christ's ministry.
Alright, so I admit that my initial purpose in writing that devotional was not solely to highlight the goodness of God towards us each as individuals. However, there are some really solid points in there that I would like to make note of. We as people struggle daily. As Christians, we are not exempt from this. Oftentimes we get discouraged by lack of progress. Sometimes we feel as if we are led on by God, just to be let down when things don't turn out as expected.
Proverbs 13:12 states that "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life". The interesting thing about this verse is that it states that when hope itself is deferred, not what is hoped for, it makes the heart sick. It is when we stop hoping that we start getting upset and aggravated. It is at this point that we stop seeing results. It's at this point that we close our eyes to the goodness of God.
When you were young, you were encouraged to dream big. When you were asked what you wanted to be in kindergarten, you probably said something along the lines of an astronaut or a football player. It's most likely that you didn't say you wanted to be an accountant or production manager. The point is, as we grow up, we let the world affect our outlook on what is possible. You've been beat down. You've been discouraged, but these discouraging aspects of life should not be seen as God revoking his blessing from you. Remember that the world will come at you incessantly. In the midst of this, you forget that you are a child of a God who can make anything possible. It is because of this that we settle for less than what we are capable of. But when we remember who our Father is, we can live with great hope. It is only when we acknowledge Him that we truly see the goodness of what He is constantly doing in our lives
He loves every single one of us unconditionally. You are not an exception.
His blessings often do not appear in the way we expect them to. Remember, if you're not seeing God's blessing in your life, it means He is trying to reveal Himself to you in a new way. Jesus came to the earth with a new type of teaching. Don't be turned away too easily. If it takes the audible voice of God speaking to you in order for you to notice Him, you two probably aren't that intimate. The fact that it is not obvious what God is doing just means that He wants you to see Him in a new way. Keep your eyes fixed and search for Him. When you find Him, your world will be rocked.
I proclaim blessings over you in Christ's name.
Be blessed bro,
Jake
Alright, so I admit that my initial purpose in writing that devotional was not solely to highlight the goodness of God towards us each as individuals. However, there are some really solid points in there that I would like to make note of. We as people struggle daily. As Christians, we are not exempt from this. Oftentimes we get discouraged by lack of progress. Sometimes we feel as if we are led on by God, just to be let down when things don't turn out as expected.
Proverbs 13:12 states that "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life". The interesting thing about this verse is that it states that when hope itself is deferred, not what is hoped for, it makes the heart sick. It is when we stop hoping that we start getting upset and aggravated. It is at this point that we stop seeing results. It's at this point that we close our eyes to the goodness of God.
When you were young, you were encouraged to dream big. When you were asked what you wanted to be in kindergarten, you probably said something along the lines of an astronaut or a football player. It's most likely that you didn't say you wanted to be an accountant or production manager. The point is, as we grow up, we let the world affect our outlook on what is possible. You've been beat down. You've been discouraged, but these discouraging aspects of life should not be seen as God revoking his blessing from you. Remember that the world will come at you incessantly. In the midst of this, you forget that you are a child of a God who can make anything possible. It is because of this that we settle for less than what we are capable of. But when we remember who our Father is, we can live with great hope. It is only when we acknowledge Him that we truly see the goodness of what He is constantly doing in our lives
He loves every single one of us unconditionally. You are not an exception.
His blessings often do not appear in the way we expect them to. Remember, if you're not seeing God's blessing in your life, it means He is trying to reveal Himself to you in a new way. Jesus came to the earth with a new type of teaching. Don't be turned away too easily. If it takes the audible voice of God speaking to you in order for you to notice Him, you two probably aren't that intimate. The fact that it is not obvious what God is doing just means that He wants you to see Him in a new way. Keep your eyes fixed and search for Him. When you find Him, your world will be rocked.
I proclaim blessings over you in Christ's name.
Be blessed bro,
Jake
No comments:
Post a Comment