"I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'you are my servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41: 9-10).
I felt led at nearly 3am this morning to write part 2 of Perfect Love...!! I've been thinking a lot about why we don't trust God..why we run!! If you are battling rejection..remember that you are not alone..!! You just need to be reminded of the Love that waits for you, the perfect love of God.
Interestingly, we often ask the questions...oh you know..the infamous questions??? The big ones...!!! "God are you really there for me..?? Are you really listening?? Do you really know me?? Do you really love me? Lord, did you die for me?? Lord...why did you die for me??? Lord why do you love me?" In fact, if we're honest, sometimes the questions become a little bit more personal: "Lord, you know I'm worthy of nothing..I'm not lovable...so why exactly is it that you claim to love me?" Have you ever felt that way???
Principle: when you trust in the thoughts of man you rest your worth at man's hand.
Your worth has been downgraded from an uncreated, everlasting, steadfast love of the Father to a created, fallen, imperfect and fading chasing after the wind!!! You've given yourself over to a love that is not love at all..it's an imperfect love..a failing love that cannot sustain you..Yes,...this worldly love will let you down..Yes, this worldly love will reject you..Yes, this worldly love can and will die, will deceive and will harm you...!!! How absolutely perfect is His indescribable love...!! Yet, we somehow let it evade our grasp!! How?? How do we miss the mark??? When we take our eyes off of the Lord, when we fail to gaze into His words of life, when we forget to seek His face in prayer..we seem to forget His perfect love!! So, what do we do??? We seek love in other places!! After all, we need God's love..so desperately...so completely...to breathe, to live, to thrive, to praise!!! Therefore, if we have lost connection with the head..the Christ, we attempt to connect to another source..as if there were any other fount of great blessings...Friends...if you are wondering how God could really love you..or how God could really have died for you...then you must ask yourselves, In whom have I been trusting?? After all, the Bible is clear...God is love and God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all...!! God has died for you..make no mistakes about it and His plan is loving..and on purpose..!! God, on purpose is pursuing you..!! He pursues you to the cross, He pursues you to the darkest of caves and to the highest of heights..to the deepest of depths and He has chosen you to be His bride...His hands remain outstretched!! God has not rejected you..and do you want to know why??? God, not man..is not full of a love that fades!! God loves you..and He created you for Himself..!! God wants you, and calls you and does not reject you!!! When we forget that, we've been chasing after the wind and the wind has died...!! Sadly, we then doubt not just man..for man has failed us..but we doubt God..the one who saves us!!
Perhaps Jonah had been listening for far too long to the responses of Israel..!! Perhaps Jonah had been placing his life at the hands of man?? When God asks you to follow his plan and you falter, or hesitate to follow Him, you have forgotten His love..!! His perfect love is behind His call..His beautiful irrevocable call always comes from arms of eternally faithful love and absolutely perfect Love...!! When God calls and you fall..you've not been listening to God at all!! When God calls and you say no..it's off to tar shish you go!! When God calls and you run, it's not going to be fun!! When God calls and you fail..Praise the Lord for the whale!!!! Amen!! Praise the Lord for the storm..!!! Praise the Lord that He will not give up on you..praise the Lord that He waits for you!! Praise the Lord that He Loves you..that His love doesn't run, doesn't reject and doesn't fail...!! Let's just run back to Him shall we??? Let's just listen at His feet as Mary has done..??? Let's just hear the Word of the Lord..a word that is trustworthy...!!
I felt led at nearly 3am this morning to write part 2 of Perfect Love...!! I've been thinking a lot about why we don't trust God..why we run!! If you are battling rejection..remember that you are not alone..!! You just need to be reminded of the Love that waits for you, the perfect love of God.
Interestingly, we often ask the questions...oh you know..the infamous questions??? The big ones...!!! "God are you really there for me..?? Are you really listening?? Do you really know me?? Do you really love me? Lord, did you die for me?? Lord...why did you die for me??? Lord why do you love me?" In fact, if we're honest, sometimes the questions become a little bit more personal: "Lord, you know I'm worthy of nothing..I'm not lovable...so why exactly is it that you claim to love me?" Have you ever felt that way???
Principle: when you trust in the thoughts of man you rest your worth at man's hand.
Your worth has been downgraded from an uncreated, everlasting, steadfast love of the Father to a created, fallen, imperfect and fading chasing after the wind!!! You've given yourself over to a love that is not love at all..it's an imperfect love..a failing love that cannot sustain you..Yes,...this worldly love will let you down..Yes, this worldly love will reject you..Yes, this worldly love can and will die, will deceive and will harm you...!!! How absolutely perfect is His indescribable love...!! Yet, we somehow let it evade our grasp!! How?? How do we miss the mark??? When we take our eyes off of the Lord, when we fail to gaze into His words of life, when we forget to seek His face in prayer..we seem to forget His perfect love!! So, what do we do??? We seek love in other places!! After all, we need God's love..so desperately...so completely...to breathe, to live, to thrive, to praise!!! Therefore, if we have lost connection with the head..the Christ, we attempt to connect to another source..as if there were any other fount of great blessings...Friends...if you are wondering how God could really love you..or how God could really have died for you...then you must ask yourselves, In whom have I been trusting?? After all, the Bible is clear...God is love and God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all...!! God has died for you..make no mistakes about it and His plan is loving..and on purpose..!! God, on purpose is pursuing you..!! He pursues you to the cross, He pursues you to the darkest of caves and to the highest of heights..to the deepest of depths and He has chosen you to be His bride...His hands remain outstretched!! God has not rejected you..and do you want to know why??? God, not man..is not full of a love that fades!! God loves you..and He created you for Himself..!! God wants you, and calls you and does not reject you!!! When we forget that, we've been chasing after the wind and the wind has died...!! Sadly, we then doubt not just man..for man has failed us..but we doubt God..the one who saves us!!
Perhaps Jonah had been listening for far too long to the responses of Israel..!! Perhaps Jonah had been placing his life at the hands of man?? When God asks you to follow his plan and you falter, or hesitate to follow Him, you have forgotten His love..!! His perfect love is behind His call..His beautiful irrevocable call always comes from arms of eternally faithful love and absolutely perfect Love...!! When God calls and you fall..you've not been listening to God at all!! When God calls and you say no..it's off to tar shish you go!! When God calls and you run, it's not going to be fun!! When God calls and you fail..Praise the Lord for the whale!!!! Amen!! Praise the Lord for the storm..!!! Praise the Lord that He will not give up on you..praise the Lord that He waits for you!! Praise the Lord that He Loves you..that His love doesn't run, doesn't reject and doesn't fail...!! Let's just run back to Him shall we??? Let's just listen at His feet as Mary has done..??? Let's just hear the Word of the Lord..a word that is trustworthy...!!
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 We love because he first loved us.
Punishment has to do with death..!! Judgement is scary to the guilty..!! And you don't have to be guilty!! Man will confuse you on this point..You will confuse yourselves on this point..Jonah was confused on this point.
Man will fail you every time..Friends..when you rely on man's thoughts..on your thoughts..you've taken a great risk...!! Rather,
Roman's 13 tells us
11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber,because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. ( oh my heavens..don't give up)13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.[c]
Put off man and put on Christ...
Man will fail you.."You" will fail you!! God will never fail you!! God does not wait to punish you..but rather stays faithful to His covenant with you!! Remember that He loved you first...!! Remember that He created you first!! Remember that He is the only one who died for you!! So, have you been fearing punishment?? Have you been listening to an imperfect love?? Are you afraid to fail..afraid of being unaccepted?? Dear precious child of God...In whom are you trusting?? Have you found yourselves at the hand of man..at the scheming of His imperfect plans? Have you been touched by the nasty entanglements of sin's lies?? No wonder you are failing to grasp how love is even possible...!!! But the Lord has another love..a righteousness that comes from God..a plan that will not fail...!!
17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,[a] just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”[b]
Faith understands that we cannot see God's plan..but we know that it is Good and that His love seeks not to harm us..but to Love us eternally!!
Yes..you need His rescue and Yes, the Righteousness from God that is by faith has nothing to do with your performance or man's opinions of you. It's a gift...a precious gift that God waits to give you..something purchased at the cross..!! Friends it's your pardon..and it's a plan..it is always available..and it's a plan that will not fail..it's a love that will not fail...!! Ask Him today to teach you all about this love of God..a love that does not disappoint...a love that is safe to trust in..a love that does not reject you..!!
I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. Isaiah 41:9
Lord, perhaps like Jonah..we run from you, fearing what punishments might come our way..fearing what man might do to us..forgetting that you oh Lord have not harmed us..!!
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Lord, send us the rain..!! Lord, send us the whale...!! Lord intervene and take us back in your great rescue..Lord, help us to remember your great love is nothing like man's love..It's best example is Jesus..and may the prayer of our hearts been once again, "Just give me Jesus"
Please worship with me and may the words of this hymn speak to your soul as it does to mine...I'd rather have Jesus..Ask the Lord to renew your hope in the one that will never leave you!!
Man will fail you every time..Friends..when you rely on man's thoughts..on your thoughts..you've taken a great risk...!! Rather,
Roman's 13 tells us
11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber,because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. ( oh my heavens..don't give up)13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.[c]
Put off man and put on Christ...
Man will fail you.."You" will fail you!! God will never fail you!! God does not wait to punish you..but rather stays faithful to His covenant with you!! Remember that He loved you first...!! Remember that He created you first!! Remember that He is the only one who died for you!! So, have you been fearing punishment?? Have you been listening to an imperfect love?? Are you afraid to fail..afraid of being unaccepted?? Dear precious child of God...In whom are you trusting?? Have you found yourselves at the hand of man..at the scheming of His imperfect plans? Have you been touched by the nasty entanglements of sin's lies?? No wonder you are failing to grasp how love is even possible...!!! But the Lord has another love..a righteousness that comes from God..a plan that will not fail...!!
Romans 1:17
New International Version (NIV)
Faith understands that we cannot see God's plan..but we know that it is Good and that His love seeks not to harm us..but to Love us eternally!!
Yes..you need His rescue and Yes, the Righteousness from God that is by faith has nothing to do with your performance or man's opinions of you. It's a gift...a precious gift that God waits to give you..something purchased at the cross..!! Friends it's your pardon..and it's a plan..it is always available..and it's a plan that will not fail..it's a love that will not fail...!! Ask Him today to teach you all about this love of God..a love that does not disappoint...a love that is safe to trust in..a love that does not reject you..!!
I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. Isaiah 41:9
Lord, perhaps like Jonah..we run from you, fearing what punishments might come our way..fearing what man might do to us..forgetting that you oh Lord have not harmed us..!!
Jeremiah 29:11
New International Version (NIV)
Lord, send us the rain..!! Lord, send us the whale...!! Lord intervene and take us back in your great rescue..Lord, help us to remember your great love is nothing like man's love..It's best example is Jesus..and may the prayer of our hearts been once again, "Just give me Jesus"
Please worship with me and may the words of this hymn speak to your soul as it does to mine...I'd rather have Jesus..Ask the Lord to renew your hope in the one that will never leave you!!
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