Do you seek great things for
yourself? —Jeremiah 45:5
“God wants you to be in a
much closer relationship with Himself than simply receiving His gifts— He wants
you to get to know Him. Even some large thing we want is only incidental; it
comes and it goes. […] There is nothing easier than getting into the right
relationship with God, unless it is not God you seek, but only what He can give
you. If you have only come as far as
asking God for things, you have never come to the point of understanding the
least bit of what surrender really means. You have become a Christian based on
your own terms. You protest, saying, “I asked God for the Holy Spirit, but He
didn’t give me the rest and the peace I expected.” And instantly God puts His
finger on the reason– you are not seeking the Lord at all; you are seeking
something for yourself. […] Are you prepared to ask yourself what it is you
want from God and why you want it? God always ignores your present level of
completeness in favor of your ultimate future completeness. He is not concerned
about making you blessed and happy right now, but He’s continually working out His
ultimate perfection for you— “…that they may be one just as We are one…” (John
17:22).” CHAMBERS
Someone once said “God is
more concerned with our character than our comfort.” Think about that. Then think about the myriad of testimonies that
you have heard in the past that focused on God bringing comfort. God is the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1) but that does not mean
that comfort is primary. Relationship is
primary. And I am not suggesting that if
I seek God out that He will solve all of my earthly problems. Our relationship to the Father through the
Son by faith is spiritual. Yet we tend
to see our faith through the prism of the physical. Our challenge is to become one with the
Father as Jesus was one with the Father, and that was not physical. Jesus had nowhere to lay his head. (Matthew 8:20) He was despised and
rejected by those He came to save (John
1:11) It is because of the strength of our spiritual relationship with the
Father that we have the capacity to endure these physical lives of ours. No
matter what may come our way. And, “Because
He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because
He lives, all fear is gone. Because I
know Who holds the future. Life is worth
the living. Just, because He lives. God
sent His Son, they called Him Jesus.” As Christians we must get our focus
right. Stop living like the rest of the
world having no hope, scrambling to survive each day, limited to what we can
make of it. But seek first the kingdom of God.
Trust in the Lord. Love God with
all of your heart. Be anxious for
nothing. Live by faith and not by sight. Get your focus and priorities in their
proper place. That is the life you have
been called to. That is the life you
embraced when you yielded your heart to Jesus.
Don’t miss the joy that you will find there. ELGIN
John 15:9-11
“Just
as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you
keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My
Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you
so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”
Charley Elgin
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