Tag: find

Best Friend Ever – Part 2

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 29:12-13, NIV)

I am thankful that God does not hide from us! He can and will be our friend, even our best friend. He is not holding back until we are perfect. He does not expect us to overcome all of our doubts first. If we genuinely pursue a friendship with Him, it will happen. He has promised!

Seeking God requires trust and humility. We may not understand everything in His Word, but we can trust it is true and desire to understand more. We may not have experienced everything He promises – in fact, it may seem we have experienced the opposite — but we can humbly accept His Word is true and His love for us is perfect. Seeking God means we want to see God clearly so we can make Him our best friend. Far more life seeks God in trust and humility.

In our sinful, human woundedness, sometimes we approach God from the wrong perspective. Instead of seeking Him, we test Him. Testing God starts from a place of doubt. We do not believe what His Word says because it has not felt true in our lives. We challenge God to give us experiences that disprove what we believe and prove the truth of His Word. Since we do not trust God, we put up barriers that prevent Him from being our best friend.

Some people we read about in the Bible were seeking God, but others were testing Him. It would be nice if the Bible clearly stated who fell into each camp, but it does not. However, as we study the Scriptures we can tell the difference.

The story of Gideon is recorded in Judges chapter 6 and 7. An angel — and later God — spoke to Gideon and told him amazing things God wanted to do through Him. Gideon did not accept the assignment until his doubts were addressed.

Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.” (Judges 6:36-37, NLT)

God patiently and lovingly met Gideon where He was and fulfilled his request. He was not threatened by Gideon’s doubts and questions. Rather than recognizing God’s protection and provision, Gideon was angry or bitter about his circumstances. He was not seeing God clearly and, as a result, He tested God rather than pursuing Him as his best friend. God included Gideon in His plan and accomplished great things through him, but Gideon appears to have missed out on far more life.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, did the opposite. In Luke chapter 1, the angel brought incredible news: she was going to birth the Messiah. After asking how this would happen, Mary accepted the angels’ response.

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:38, NLT)

Later in this chapter and throughout the gospels, we catch glimpses of how Mary continued to trust God and better understand Him. Her life demonstrates that when we see God clearly, we make Him our best friend. She trusted Him — even when she did not understand His ways — and experienced far more life.

We have the opportunity to be best friends with the most powerful being in the universe! And we get to choose whether we will trust Him or test Him. Far more life is a desire to seek Him and a willingness to unearth the beliefs that tempt us to test Him. The next post in this series will look at some common distortions that keep us from making God our best friend ever. And keep us from enjoying far more life.

Sisters,
Think of a time you have wholeheartedly sought God. Did you find Him?
Think of a time when you have tested God. How did that turn out different from times you sought Him?
How have you experienced God’s protection, provision, and love?
When have you been frustrated because God did not do what you wanted or expected?
Talk to God about the times you have tested Him. Thank Him for the times you have seen Him clearly and sought Him. Embrace far more life in those moments!
-Shari

Letting Go

In the last post we talked about forgiving others. But there are two more people everyone needs to forgive. These people have probably disappointed and hurt you more often than anyone else. And we hold on to their hurts tightest and longest. Who are they? Ourselves and God.

We are our own worst critics. Despite our outward bravado, we hope others won’t see our sins and failures. We are ashamed. We kick ourselves for not doing better, for not being better. Everyone feels this way. Some people hide the extent of their negative self-talk. Others are clearly drowning in a sea of self-loathing and worthlessness. But this doesn’t have to be! God wants awareness of our sin to lead to spiritual change. For those who don’t have a personal relationship with Him, He offers hope:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:23-24, NIV)

You are not alone! ALL have sinned. EVERYONE has felt the shame that you feel. But God, in His love, doesn’t want you to be stuck there. He offers forgiveness through the sacrifice of His Son’s life to make restitution for your sin. It’s the largest, most important gift you could ever receive! If you’ve never accepted it but want to, take a moment right now and tell Him.

Once we accept God’s gift and enter a relationship with Him, we have a clean slate before Him. Nothing — not even our own sin — can separate us from God. Since He can see our whole lives and knows every thought, word, and action — past, present and future — nothing will ever surprise Him or change His view of us.

Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for 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. (Romans 8:34, 38-39, NIV)

If God never condemns His children for their sins or draws back from them, why do we condemn ourselves and draw back from Him? Why do we forfeit the far more life He offers?  Because we see ourselves from a different perspective than God does. We still see ourselves as we were before Christ changed us while He sees who we are after Christ’s work in us.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV)

Forgiving ourselves requires letting go and letting God.  It means we entrust the situation — and any negative consequences — to Him. We trust Him to restore what was lost or taken away that is needed. We trust Him to heal the damaged emotions of everyone who got hurt in the situation. While it is good for us to confess our sin to God and thank Him for His forgiveness, we don’t need to punish ourselves; Jesus has already taken that punishment for us. Forgiving ourselves separates us from our sin and brings far more life.

Are you hesitant to let go and let God? If so, maybe you need to forgive Him. God doesn’t ever sin; He is perfect. So he doesn’t technically need to be forgiven. But there are times we feel hurt, abandoned, disappointed, or misunderstood by Him because we are unable to see His actions and intentions correctly. Our negative emotions cause us to pull away from Him. To question His character, truthfulness, trustworthiness, and His intentions toward us. We are hesitant to believe His promises and obey His commands because Satan’s lies about God resonate louder inside us. We are afraid to get hurt again.

It is important to work through these hurts. Don’t be afraid to reveal your ugliest thoughts and feelings to God — He already knows them!

You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.  (Psalm 139:2-4, NIV)

It is hard work to uncover Satan’s lies and embrace the truth about God. But He is big enough to handle our questions and doubts. He compassionately meets us where we are. He patiently walks us through each step of faith. This wonderful promise He made the Israelites when they were far from Him is still true for us:

But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 4:29, NIV)

The same promise is true for us!  God isn’t offended when we confess our hurt, anger, and distrust to Him. He doesn’t get angry when we admit He isn’t who we want Him to be and doesn’t do what we want Him to do. When we forgive Him, we let go of the false expectations that caused us pain. That releases us to see and experience Him — and life — the way He intended it. As a result, we see His true character and our desire to mold ourselves to His likeness grows. We discover that letting go brings far more life, life we had not even imagined was possible.

Sisters, 
For what to you need to forgive yourself?
For what do you need to forgive God?
Are you willing to let go of these hurts?
Thank God for character His qualities and promises that are most meaningful to you.
Commit to seeking Him this week; as you find Him enjoy far more life!
-Shari

Copyright 2019-20, Shari Damaso