The world changes so quickly, life changes, people change – but the Bible tells us that God is steadfast. It is one of the reasons why we need to make sure we keep our eyes focused on Him. I think often of Peter, getting out of the boat at Jesus’ prompting, full of confidence in Jesus until he looked away and realized, “Oh my gosh! I’m walking on water! I’m walking on water? Uhoh, I’m water walking – how is that?” That he started to sink. (Find and read Matthew 14:22-33).
When we take our focus off on God, we begin to sink. We are a spirit that has a soul that lives in a body. We were made to be in fellowship with God. If you really take time to think about that, the joy and peace that passes ALL understanding will flood your soul. I have reached a point in my life where I KNOW without a shadow of a doubt, that I NEED God. I NEED Him… More than I NEED HIM. I can’t be without Him. I know what it is like to allow my eyes to drift off of Him and I have sunk, just like Peter until Jesus in His mercy, forgiveness, compassion and love has reached out His hand to me and rescued me. I am SOLD OUT for God.
You have to come to a point where you realize that God HAS GOT to be your everything. Your priority, your reason. NO ONE and NO THING can come before Him. But oh let me tell you, when you put Him first! You lack NOTHING. When you put Him first everything comes into line and even when you go through trials and tribulations (which you STILL will even as a Christian because we STILL live in a fallen, sinful world) you have the confidence that He is RIGHT there with you! Just as it says in Psalm 23:4:
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”
There is NO love you can experience until you accept the love that God has for you. And you CAN’T “out-love” God. There is a song that one of my best friend has sung in worship to the Lord, by the Gaither the lyrics go like this:
“Shackled by a heavy burden
‘Neath a load of guilt and shame
Then the hand of Jesus touched me
And now I am no longer the same
He touched me, oh, He touched me
And oh, the joy that floods my soul
Something happened, and now I know
He touched me, and made me whole
Since I’ve met this blessed Savior
Since He’s cleansed and made me whole
Oh, I will never cease to praise Him (to praise Him)
I’ll shout it while eternity rolls
Oh, He touched me, oh He touched me, He touched me
And oh, the joy that floods my soul
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole.”
He Touched Me lyrics© Edwin H. Morris & Co. Inc., Elvis Presley Music, Hanna Street Music, Abg Elvis Songs, New Spring Publishing Inc.
Unless you have experienced the love that God intended you to experience with Him, the totality of those lyrics will go waaaaaaaaaay over your head. BUT when you have experienced the love of God which is in Christ Jesus – the JOY that floods your soul is like NOTHING you can compare anything to! It’s when you can understand WHY the Bible says in 2 Samuel 6:14-22:
“And David danced before the Lord with all his might…”
Only those who are part of God’s Called Remnant – Made Jesus Lord over their lives, accepted Him as their Savior can fully understand what it is I am talking about. Does joy well up in your soul as you read my words? Do you PERSONALLY know (and have experienced) the love of the Lord? IF SO, then YOU KNOW what I’m talking about. You know that NOTHING can appeal to you MORE than pleasing God, walking in His purpose! You crave Him! You long to be closer to Him. The book Song of Songs speaks to you because you feel like you can not only identify with it, but are at a point in your walk with Him where you could write a version of your own! You KNOW what it is like to “dance as David danced” with total abandonment of love but even more so than David – because WE KNOW that we have come into a relationship with a God WHO FIRST LOVED US (See )
Because He left the glories of Heaven to come down in the form of man (Jesus) born of the virgin Mary, lived a sin-less life amongst us – it doesn’t get MORE personal than that! Died FOR US on the cross for forgiveness of sins He did NOT even commit! He died for OUR sins! Yours and mine! Rose FROM the dead defeating sin and death! Restored a RIGHT relationship for us with God the Father! Sent Holy Spirit to dwell within us, to guide us, teach us, convict us, BE with us! Even NOW is interceding on OUR behalf, while seated at the right hand of the Father until He returns to come get those of us who belong to Him!
WHEW! Now THAT is a God who LOVES US! WHO ELSE can YOU say did ALL that for you??? For me???? How IS it possible NOT to love a God who has made it His personal intent to restore a right relationship in the MOST personal way with us? How can we choose not to accept such a gift? The gift of salvation? What other name under Heaven has done ALL of that for us? Let me tell you:
NONE. NONE. NONE. NONE. NONE!!!
The Bible tells us in Psalm 91:7-11:
“A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; Nor He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.”
And in Romans 8:35-39:
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
So I ask you, are YOU steadfast for the Lord? Are you determined to go forward in Him come what may? Knowing that He is before you, behind you, beside you? Are you willing to take time to listen to Holy Spirit and His instruction? Are you willing to seek Him EVERY day? Are YOU sold out for a God who died for YOU so that YOU could have eternal life? Revelations 3:20 says:
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
I pray that you read my words and listen to the cry of your very soul… You were made to be in fellowship with God. Maybe Holy Spirit is prompting you right now to stop filling that need with empty things like alcohol, drugs, sex, people -pleasing, living-for-others, addictions (which can also mean idols that take up your time and distract you from God’s calling on your life), social media addictions, gaming addictions – anything that numbs you and keeps you from hearing God’s voice calling out to you. Ol’ slewfoot is a liar and will try to entice you with the things of this world above the calling of God on your life. Distractions that truly CANNOT fill the void of what was meant to be the center of your life – which is a relationship with God. I cannot adequately find the words to convey how sweet a steadfast fellowship relationship is with God because you have to want to/and experience it for yourself in order to understand the reality of the words I am writing. The Bible says in Psalm 34:8:
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”
Because a relationship with the Lord IS personal, each relationship that He has with each of us who have chosen to follow Him IS personal! What I need and what I experience with Him MAY be different than what YOU need and what YOU experience with Him! Which when you think about it, makes sense – is your relationship with your spouse and with your children or with your mother and father or friends different when you compare them together? Such is the case when you choose to have a relationship with God! I am not YOU, you are not ME – we are different! But God LOVES us ALL the same! He has NO favorites! Think of your favorite meal – ALL of the ingredients that make up that meal are individual – but when they come together they make ONE BIG YUM! Such as is the case with the Body of Christ! We ARE many members but One in the body of Christ! See 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 below:
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”
God stands steadfast waiting on you to see what it IS He desires to have you with you. My prayer is that once you make that decision for Him, that you recognize that everything you ever needed, everything you could ever want is found when you quench yourself smack in the middle of a relationship with Him. He IS the way, the truth AND the life. And fullness of life is found when you choose to stand steadfast in Him. I pray you do.
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