He has blessed us, chosen us, lavished on us…according to the kind intention of His will.
(Ephe. 1)
God is after you for your good! Isn’t that an amazing thought?! He affirms you as a valued be
arer of His image. You are His workmanship uniquely crafted and shaped by the wonderful and horrible events of your life. His purposes are deep and He knows what you need to be drawn deeply to Himself, so you can be the free, joyful person He is working toward.
“Suffering, like nothing else shows us what we really love. The enemy of joy is not suffering, it is idolatry.” Matt Papa, Look and Live
“Even in the suffering, He is for us. He brings pain in order to bring healing.”
Mitchel Lee
(The following thoughts were prompted by a talk by Pastor Mitchel Lee.)
Our new self is in process, it is being created, renewed, and transformed. The authentic self I was born with has to be trained, disciplined, formed and instructed with outside help, grace and power. The old self that I crafted to survive and keep myself safe has to be unlearned and put off so the new can be put on. That’s why he pursues us and sometimes it takes hardship.
Pride often is what keeps us from growing and from receiving. We think we have to be at a certain place or mindset in order to have God’s attention. As though we have to make ourselves better first to be worthy. That’s pride. Larry Crabb calls it “deceived by the pride of self-hatred.”
What is keeping you from growing?
What we often attribute to God is a wrong view of who He really is, because we see him through our brokenness, which distorts truth. Many of our emotions are based on assumptions that come from our wrong view of Him. If I embrace the fact that God is pursuing me for good purposes; if I cooperate rather than refuse or fight him, I will find growth, strength, purpose and the new self shining His glory. God uses every circumstance to father us.
“Most people who are angry with God are angry with him for being God. They’re not angry because he has failed to deliver what he promised. They’re angry because he has failed to deliver what they have craved, expected, or demanded.”
Paul Tripp Awe, p. 73
I know that has been true of me…
What may be keeping you from letting God meet you where you are right now?