2 Chronicles 16:9b “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose hearts is completely His.”
John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep my words; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.’”
Can we embrace the fact that God is good; that He wants to ‘support’ us; that He is looking for those whose hearts are completely His; and that He wants to make His abode in us? Do we believe, are we convinced that God is about having a relationship with His creation, about family? God is a compassionate God, desiring good for those who belong to Him and who have a heart to know Him. There is a tendency for us to think of God as a disciplinarian or One who is watching us to see if we do wrong. Some believe that they must walk the ‘straight and narrow’ if they are to avoid the wrath of God. Our view of God is critical. It is true that God does judge sin and there are things we can do as believers that displease Him. However, the very essence, the very nature of God is that He is good and full of compassion, desiring that all men be saved and come to know Him as a loving Father. Most of the heartaches, the troubles of man, the brokenness, and strife that is prevalent in the world is a result of man rejecting God-not the results of an angry God venting His displeasure. The promises of God are unlimited for those whose hearts are completely His, for those who seek Him with all of their hearts. 2 Chronicles 15:1-7 tells us that God will let those who seek Him find Him. God wants us to find Him. After all said and done, no matter your past, no matter what your present circumstances are, the all-important thing is what your heart is seeking. You can read a thousand books, listen to a thousand sermons, but if it’s not your heart to know God, then all is in vain. (Perhaps the reading and listening to sermons may impact your heart to the point that you seek Him.) I think that when we better understand the nature of God, that He is for us, that He loves us, and that He desires for us to live abundant life, it becomes only natural for us to want to know Him-to seek Him. As said many times before, God revealing Himself to man, is the reason He inspired the written word, the Bible. As we read and study the Word of God, we learn of Him and His purposes for man, and we discover our true identity as new creations. Again, when it is our heart to know Him, He lets us find Him and He “strongly supports” us, and He and the Son make us His abode! Obeying Him and keeping His words become the natural response and our joy, when we come to know Him. The only way to know Him is to seek Him first.
Psalm 86:15 “But you, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.”
Romans 8:31 “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Blessings,
Buddy