May 19, 2015 FINDING FAVOR (Part 2)
Psalms 5:12: “For it is Thou who dost bless the righteous man, O Lord, Thou dost surround him with favor as with a shield.”
Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
As said in the last blog, it is clear that the focus and desire of our heart is an important link to receiving the favor of God. In 2 Chronicles 16:9 we saw that God is actively looking for those “whose heart is completely His.” Since the focus and desire of our heart is critical, one might ask how we get our heart in the right place- a great question. Does one just let the heart set its own focus, or does he determine the focus of his heart? I believe that the heart should be subject to the Spirit of God that lives in each believer. This is a big issue that must be addressed because if our heart is not continually being kept in tune with the Spirit, then we live according to what feels good or feels right, and actually we live life out of control-subject to our emotions which may or may not be in accordance to the Spirit. One may spend years trying to get his or her heart right only to end in defeat and frustration. It may sound strange, but as sincere as we may be, we can’t get the focus of our heart on God by our own effort. We can read the bible cover to cover; we can pray all day; and we can be at church every time the door is open and still find that our heart is not completely His. So, is there any hope for us in getting our heart in the right place? There is a truth that sets us free; a truth that liberates us; a truth that changes everything; and it is the truth that God is our Father. God gives us a new heart and with this new heart, we can begin to understand the relationship we have with our true Father-the Creator of everything. As believers, we belonged to, and were know by God long before our physical birth. Jesus came to redeem us back to our Father and Jesus made it clear that He and we have the same Father. When we come to understand the nature of our Father-His absolute power and authority in the universe and His unending great love for us- there is nothing to fear and we can spend all of our days searching out just how awesome our Father is and we can then live in peace. When we discover God for who He is, we will find that our heart is drawn to Him just as a child’s heart his drawn to his earthly father or mother. We can come to a place where our heart is completely His and that is what pleases Him. God delights in our trusting Him and longing for Him. One blessing of having the favor of God is that we know He is with us everywhere we go-all the time- and we can actually enjoy being friends with God (John 15:15). In the verse above, we see that God blesses the righteous man. Our righteousness comes from God and the righteousness that comes from God produces in us a desire to express His righteousness in the way we live. In 1 John 4:17 we read: “By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgement; because as He is, so also are we in this world” and in 1 John 2:5-6 we read: “but whoever keeps His word, in Him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” These verses make it clear that we can now live our lives in such a manner that our life is a reflection of God! Wow! To repeat: when our heart belongs to God and we understand that He desires a relationship with us, we will find that everything else fails in comparison to knowing Him. This does not mean we will be perfect or that we will never face trials, but it does mean that our heart belongs to Him and He will “direct our steps” and will confirm our direction and He will correct us when needed. Human effort is not sufficient! We start by asking God to reveal deep within our spirit that He is OUR FATHER. As we are asking God for this revelation, we are to be reading and meditating on the scriptures and we are to follow what the scriptures teach. Choose to speak the truth of scripture regardless how you may “feel” and choose to obey what the Spirit says to you. Remember that God is looking for those whose heart belongs to Him. The favor of God is a by-product of our heart being completely His and His experiencing God’s favor causes us to be humble in spirit because we know that in and of ourselves, we do not deserve the favor of God.
Proverbs 8:17: “I love those who love Me; and those who diligently seek Me will find me.”
Blessings,
Buddy
Psalms 5:12: “For it is Thou who dost bless the righteous man, O Lord, Thou dost surround him with favor as with a shield.”
Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
As said in the last blog, it is clear that the focus and desire of our heart is an important link to receiving the favor of God. In 2 Chronicles 16:9 we saw that God is actively looking for those “whose heart is completely His.” Since the focus and desire of our heart is critical, one might ask how we get our heart in the right place- a great question. Does one just let the heart set its own focus, or does he determine the focus of his heart? I believe that the heart should be subject to the Spirit of God that lives in each believer. This is a big issue that must be addressed because if our heart is not continually being kept in tune with the Spirit, then we live according to what feels good or feels right, and actually we live life out of control-subject to our emotions which may or may not be in accordance to the Spirit. One may spend years trying to get his or her heart right only to end in defeat and frustration. It may sound strange, but as sincere as we may be, we can’t get the focus of our heart on God by our own effort. We can read the bible cover to cover; we can pray all day; and we can be at church every time the door is open and still find that our heart is not completely His. So, is there any hope for us in getting our heart in the right place? There is a truth that sets us free; a truth that liberates us; a truth that changes everything; and it is the truth that God is our Father. God gives us a new heart and with this new heart, we can begin to understand the relationship we have with our true Father-the Creator of everything. As believers, we belonged to, and were know by God long before our physical birth. Jesus came to redeem us back to our Father and Jesus made it clear that He and we have the same Father. When we come to understand the nature of our Father-His absolute power and authority in the universe and His unending great love for us- there is nothing to fear and we can spend all of our days searching out just how awesome our Father is and we can then live in peace. When we discover God for who He is, we will find that our heart is drawn to Him just as a child’s heart his drawn to his earthly father or mother. We can come to a place where our heart is completely His and that is what pleases Him. God delights in our trusting Him and longing for Him. One blessing of having the favor of God is that we know He is with us everywhere we go-all the time- and we can actually enjoy being friends with God (John 15:15). In the verse above, we see that God blesses the righteous man. Our righteousness comes from God and the righteousness that comes from God produces in us a desire to express His righteousness in the way we live. In 1 John 4:17 we read: “By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgement; because as He is, so also are we in this world” and in 1 John 2:5-6 we read: “but whoever keeps His word, in Him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” These verses make it clear that we can now live our lives in such a manner that our life is a reflection of God! Wow! To repeat: when our heart belongs to God and we understand that He desires a relationship with us, we will find that everything else fails in comparison to knowing Him. This does not mean we will be perfect or that we will never face trials, but it does mean that our heart belongs to Him and He will “direct our steps” and will confirm our direction and He will correct us when needed. Human effort is not sufficient! We start by asking God to reveal deep within our spirit that He is OUR FATHER. As we are asking God for this revelation, we are to be reading and meditating on the scriptures and we are to follow what the scriptures teach. Choose to speak the truth of scripture regardless how you may “feel” and choose to obey what the Spirit says to you. Remember that God is looking for those whose heart belongs to Him. The favor of God is a by-product of our heart being completely His and His experiencing God’s favor causes us to be humble in spirit because we know that in and of ourselves, we do not deserve the favor of God.
Proverbs 8:17: “I love those who love Me; and those who diligently seek Me will find me.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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