Receive It

Jeremiah 31:³ “The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you” (NKJV)

Yesterday we began to look at the first of Paul’s seven secrets to defeating discouragement contained in 2 Corinthians 4. And the first secret to defeating discouragement is Never Forget How Much God Loves You. When we focus on how merciful, loving, and kind God is to us, it drives away discouragement. Unfortunately, a lot of people have a skewed understanding of who God is. For some people, every time they hear God, they hear a criticizing voice. Maybe because the authority figure in their lives criticized them growing up. A lot of people have been battered. Some say their only experience with God is of God chastising them.

Listen, if all you hear God saying to you are chastising words, something is wrong with that.  You need to check who you are really listening to because God loves you. But Pastor, the child the Lord loves, He chastises. Yes, that is one aspect of God’s love but there is a whole lot more that makes it complete – His love, kindness, and mercy. God’s mercy is God not to give us what we deserve. God loves you, never forget that. The story is told of a lady, every time she sees her Pastor, she says, ‘Oh Pastor, God is dealing very brutally with me in this area. God is exposing the flaws of my heart. I am crushed, I am broken in the presence of God’. It sounds pious, right?

After a while, her Pastor said to her, ‘Every time you hear God, He is always critical of your short comings? My sister, that is not God.’ Am I saying God does not chastise us or that He does not confront our flaws? Yes, He does and that is what makes us better and grow. However, I am saying that cannot be all there is to your experience of God. Guess what? The number one purpose of your life is not for you to please God. I know this just messes up some people’s theology. But give it time to sink.

The number one purpose of your life is not for you to do good. The number one purpose of your life is not for you to fulfil your destiny. Some people are so consumed with fulfilling destiny that they do not even understand God anymore. The number one purpose of your life is not for you to love God back. I know by now you are wondering what the number one purpose of your life is. I will tell you; it is top secret, but you are deeply privileged. The number one purpose of your life is to let God love you. Boom! So, you cannot even begin to please God if you have not received the love of God.

Prayer (song):  Lord, Your tenderness, melting all my bitterness. O Lord, I receive Your love. O Lord, Your loveliness, changing all my unworthiness. O Lord, I receive Your love… Amen!