Encouragement
God loves you. You. Let that soak in for a moment. Repeat it back to yourself, “God loves me!” “Me.” Now think of what you’ve done to deserve, obtain, or feel that love. Sometimes I think we get caught up in the blessings for our lives, having experienced God’s miracle working power we know what He’s capable of, and our faith is strong in knowing that the blessings are in fact on the way.
However, while we know what God is capable of, what are we capable of? What are we capable of giving to God in lieu of everything He has given to us? We talk about the abundant life, but what is that really? The abundant life is the fruits of the spirit, it is peace, joy, love, patience, and longsuffering…Do we really know what a rich, insurmountable blessing it is to have the fruits of the spirit operating in our lives. To have joy in times of sorrow and distress, to have peace in the times of turmoil and despair, to have patience in chaotic situations and to have love when hate seems to be running rapid. We don’t give ourselves these things, they are gifts offered to us by our Heavenly Father.
Still the question remains, what are we capable of. What are we willing to sacrifice? John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world that He gave.” Stop right there, for everything that we are capable of can be found in giving. Consider this, what way did our Heavenly Father show his love for us, He Gave. For God so loved the world that HE GAVE.
So what we’re capable of can be found in what we GIVE, what we sacrifice, and what we let go of. In our service to our Heavenly Father, is our focus on Him? When were tasked to volunteer at the church, or for a friend, or family member, do we do it out of self accolades, considering how the church or our friends may look at us (if we don’t do it). But never taking into consideration, God looks at our hearts. In other words, are we willing to give our service and our time because we need to be looked upon as a “nice person”, in this instance, are we are guilty of completing a service solely for the purpose of how it will make us look? Can we say SELFISH?
Here’s the thing about being viewed as a “nice person” from the eyes of man rather than the heart of God, because, nice people can be evil too. Nice people can be selfish, nice people can be hurtful, damaging, and “nice people” can be self-serving. Because nice isn’t nice if it is simply a mask we place on our faces for the benefit of friends and family, while we leave our real thoughts, attitudes, and judgments at home. If we are tasked to finish a thought this way, “Well, if I don’t do it, there going to think…” Change that!
I admonish all of us to rip that from our language, the fact of the matter is, IF we have to make the statement above, our gift of service isn’t genuine and therefore who is it benefiting? I’m sure we hear this all the time, “God looks at our hearts.” The truth is He does. He examines our hearts and our motives, and if we “call” ourselves making a sacrifice and our hearts don’t prove genuine what is the benefit of that?
So the question remains, what are we capable of? I implore you that this love affair can not be one sided. Meaning, we can’t absorb ourselves in the love of Jesus Christ and do nothing for Him in return. Are we capable of serving God with our whole heart, are we capable of praising God with every fiber of our being, are we capable of committing our lives to God, no matter what the sacrifice, are we capable of loving him in the answers He gives, in the answers he doesn’t give, in the revelation we receive, in the revelations we don’t receive, in the spouse we are blessed with, in the spouse we are praying for, in the children we have, in the children who have yet to come…
What are we capable of? When will we relinquish ourselves to explore the possibilities? The bible says, “All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called to His purpose.” Regardless of what we must do to sacrifice, or what we must go without in order to serve Him, the bible says “All Things work together for those who love Him, and who are called to His purpose.”
In knowing this, “Lean not to your own understanding, in all our ways, let us acknowledge Him, and He will direct our paths.” As we surrender to this, perhaps then we can begin to show Our Heavenly Father what we are capable of. To God Be the Glory!
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Excellence, my dear friend! We are capable of the unfathomable... just as soon as the selfish gain of it all is set aside and the glory of His constant presence and companionship, and depending on His perfect will becomes our goal. All other things do seem to fade then. And when He becomes the totality of our focus, the fruits do multiply in our favor. Amazing... isn't it? Why, then, wouldn't anyone not want to wholeheartedly serve the Lord? Because they don't know? But people like you, with articles like this, God uses to get the Word out there. I'd love to see more of your writing. It is so refreshing... a cool glass of water for the least of us!
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