In these next few blogs, we are going to learn to ‘delight Gods’ heart’, by taking Him at His word. We could also call it ‘living by faith’, which is of course the only way to live as a Christian, as ‘Without faith, it is impossible to please God’. Hebrews 11:6. God is so pleased when we believe in Him, and not our feelings, or our enemy ‘The father of lies’ John 8:44. In addition to delighting God, we are going to experience the blessing that wholehearted agreement with God brings into our lives.
We wrote, yesterday, that we can express our agreement with God, by our unequivocal ‘Thank you’. We also know however that, when He speaks a truth to us, either directly from the Bible, or through a song or a word given to us, Ephesians 5:19, that we often receive it with ‘a divided heart’. One part of me believes God, but often deep inside at another level, my doubts, fed by the lies of the enemy, prevent me from agreeing with God, with all my heart.
Some of us still find it hard to believe that God ‘really, really loves us’. We know He died to save us, and there is no greater love than that, John 15:13, but how hard it is, to know deep down inside, that the Father loves us with the same love He has for Jesus. John 17:23. There is only one quality of love in the Godhead, and all that pure love, is now fully flowing over you and me.
I remember one time, while I was in a meeting, singing a worship song, I felt that that the Lord wanted me to change the words. Instead of singing ‘I love you Lord’ I felt that He wanted me to sing, ‘You love me Lord’. It felt all wrong, a bit proud, even presumptuous, but when I did, it released some faith somewhere deep inside, and joy too, as the significance of what I had just confessed with my mouth sank in.
We can all picture the scene; the hero finally declares his love to the heroine, and after he has gone, she bounces round the house singing, ‘He loves me, he loves me, he really really loves me’. Before that she had just been hoping, and hanging onto whatever clues she could find, as to how he really felt. If he could see her joy, the hero too, would be delighted, knowing that His beloved now believed him.
To say ‘Thank you God, from the bottom of my heart’ sharpens my faith and stops me playing around with any doubts and unbelief. It stops me entertaining those sneaky thoughts, that “perhaps He loves X –who seems to be so blessed and doing so well – more than me”. Or the thought that,” He really can’t love me much now. I’ve made such a mess of today”.
So, let us break our agreement, with any of these sorts of lies, and decide to enthusiastically agree with our very loving and patient Heavenly Father. Let us thank God unreservedly for His unconditional love. Today, turn to the Lord, and say ‘thank you Jesus, that you really, really love me’. Say it as often as you can, and whenever you remember. I know it sounds almost too simple, but let’s do it. For Jesus sake, let’s agree with Him, by thanking Him, and so let this foundational truth sink down into the depths of us, to places that it has not reached before.
I remember a meeting when someone came and prayed over a minster of some years. As he did he sang the simple childrens’ chorus, ‘Jesus loves me this I know, for the bible tells me so, Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so’. He prayed for him, and sang it over and over again, and through that song, the Love of God broke into this ministers life, in a new way.
So let us, as we thank God for His endless love, declare that truth over ourselves, and as we do, we will bring great joy to Jesus. We will be ‘walking’ with Him, in agreement about His love. A love that He has already, fully and conclusively, demonstrated on the cross.
We can then become closer to being ‘fully believing believers’!!
