Thursday, October 25, 2007
Just need to love Him
I have been struggling with something recently. I have been struggling to discern if God doesnt answer yes to a prayer, is it a "no now" or a "no forever" answer?  I do understand that it is not something that I should be overly concerned with since God wants us to focus on the now rather then the later.  So, if I will stop complaining, I could just simply take his no for what it is...a no.

But I've been struggling with how God could say no to something that was bringing me so much spiritual growth (please, try to stay with my ambiguity).  Ah, but it is not my place to really decide what is best for me.  That has been hard to understand as well.

When God called us to himself.  When God called us to be his disciples he called every part of us. 

He calls for our devotion of mind, heart, soul, and strength. 

Mark 12:30 says
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
Love takes discipline; it takes devotion, if you truely want to call it love.

Let's break it down. 
(Disclaimer...these are Kristy's thoughts and not a Bible Commentary's thoughts.)

Heart:
To love our precious Lord with all of our heart means that we surrender our desires unto Him.  If we truely love our Savior, if we truely recognize how much he loves us, then we should be willing to submit these desires and to allow His desires to be threaded into the very fabric of who we are. God's desires become our desires. Take notice that the opposite is not true, and should never be allowed to take root in our thinking. We should not think that our desires will become God's desires. God does not submit to us. We submit to God.  But, also keep in mind that God loves you very much, and he will do what is good for you, so do not fear when he does say no to a desire of yours, because when the Lord takes away, he replaces with something greater. 

Also do not think that I am saying that God will not grant you the desires of your heart. God will bless us, but sometimes what we want for ourselves isnt what is best for us, and this goes back to my dilemma above of who it is that really knows what is best for me, me? or God?

Soul:
To love God with all my soul...hmm, this is a hard one to understand. I see the soul as being the deepest part of us. It is the eternal part. Think of in those terms. Love the Lord your God with what is eternal.
He has saved my own soul from eternal damnation. 
How could someone adequately express gratitude for that? 

I think that this should push us to really consider the lost all around us. Those that are hurting deeply and those who we dont see as eternal beings. If we did, would it change how we think of them and how we interact with them? God loved your soul enough to die for you, and you are forever indepted to him. Now, can you take that same love and love God enough to care for his people in the same way? That is something to consider.

Mind:
Love the Lord your God with all of your mind. With all of your cognitive thinking. With all of your reason and with all of your knowledge and intelligence. Love God with your mind.

Think of the human race.
Think of the amazing capacity that God has given us for thought and reason.
Think of how we numb this amazing blessing.
We spend hours infront of the TV. We spend hours infront of a computer doing mindless things.
We spend hours infront of things that bring us no spiritual growth. Consider this verse in 1 Corinthians chapter 10.
23 "I have the right to do anything," you say - but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything" - but not everything is constructive.
We have many rights as Christians. We have the right to numb this amazing chunk of grey matter between our ears, but where does that take us? What does that do for us? Take advantage of this blessing and dont take it for granted.

Read more.
Study more.
Observe more.

Strength:
Now this one is interesting. Love the Lord your God with all of your strength. 
What has God blessed you with? 

What are your strengths? Are you bold? Use it to God's glory. Are you creative? Use it to God's glory. Are you wealthy? Use it to God's glory. Are you hospitable? Use it to God's glory. Can you sing? Use it to God's glory. The list can go on and on.

Find your strengths that God has blessed you with, and use it to God's glory. Maximize your potential for His kingdom and I promise you that you will grow spiritually and your relationship with the Father above will deepen.

Consider for a moment your weaknesses? What are you addicted to? What sin is in your life? What past sin was in your life that God has saved you from? All these things can also bring God glory. Our weaknesses can become our strengths through God.


So there we have it. As usual, it was a "just go for it" post where I didn't exactly have a plan.

I pray that God teaches me through my own words. It was not I who spoke, but I know that the Holy Spirit was speaking through me. I need not worry and I need not fret. God is in control. 

God has given us today. Let us glorify Him with it.

In Christ,
Kristy
posted by Kristy @ 10:21 PM  
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Name: Kristy
Home: Boise, Idaho, United States
About Me: I'm just a seeker. I seek God and each day is full of lessons that he gives. He reveals His grace to me and when I fall he picks me up to my feet. When I can't see I know He'll clear my vision. I am simply seeking God's will and my hope is that this corner of the internet becomes a place where I can share the random things that go through my mind, and hopefully make a few friends. Thanks for stopping by :)
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