“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you but will rejoice over you with singing.”
I have learned to see God as my Father. My sin is covered by His sacrifice, and He is not angry with me. I also envision God as a Warrior who protects me. ….But I still struggle to see Him so pleased with me that He would rejoice and sing over me.
When my nephew was an infant, he was very sick, and I remember seeing my mother softly singing over him in the hospital. Her love for him was evident. But how could God love me like that? How can God sing over someone who is guilty and unclean?
The life I have lived is not worthy of that kind of affection. That sounds like modesty, but that focus is the problem… when I concentrate on my own unworthiness, it is not humility – it is doubt. It is questioning the power of the blood of Christ. In God’s plan, it doesn’t matter who I WAS…It matters who I AM. The question is, have I placed my faith in Jesus, and am I walking in His righteousness?
If you think you're not good enough for God to love…you are looking at the wrong set of qualifications…YOUR actions don’t deserve His love …But HIS actions …make you perfect and qualified.
How liberating it is to realize that salvation is based on His love and power… Once I accept the gift of grace and take my eyes off me - it is easy to envision His wonderful song as I bring Him joy by walking in the holiness of His Son.
By accepting His grace - I instantly become free to do good …Not so He will love me, but because He loves me… And I begin serving God from a position of security and strength…as a cherished child – not an imposter desperately trying to earn their way into His presence.
Put joy in this new year by abandoning your efforts to be good enough for God to love, and instead rest in the completed work of Christ. Then you can focus on the unfinished work of spreading the gospel - which is what set you free in the first place.
“It is finished” – Jesus
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