I’ve told Maya that I think she’s too smart for her own good. There are some people that have a kind of wisdom and savvy that exceeds ‘book smart’. They just organically see beyond the surface and figure out the problems under the hood. This is Maya’s specialty. It’s also the reason that many find her intimidating, especially the men she’s dated. Her relationships start out well, but no game goes undetected with Maya, and she calls it like she sees it. She’s a very caring and compassionate person, and she wants very much to find the man God has ordained to walk with her through life. Divorced over ten years, she can’t understand why it’s been so challenging to meet someone that’s transparent, genuine, and can equal her level of commitment.
Feeling powerless is a horrible place to be. You know what you want, and you think you know what will make you happy, but the truth is that you’re not happy; at least not as happy as you’d like to be. Nothing turns out the way you expect, and the days seem to run into one another. The sameness of the routine drags on your soul, and you don’t know how to change things. It’s more frustrating than you ever imagined life could be.
Maya, like many of us that have great desires on our hearts, has been praying about wanting to meet someone new, a quality man that has the capacity to appreciate who she is. She’s mentioned more than a few times that she believes she’s being punished because she divorced her husband, and he never wanted the marriage to end. She wonders if there’s anything she can do to get back into God’s good graces and to have the kind of life she wants for herself.
The belief that God punishes people who don’t do what He wants has defeated the faith of many individuals for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. It is a prevailing and very erroneous belief that causes a mindset of ambivalence. We say we believe He’s all good, but we also believe He punishes. The human mind cannot reconcile the two, and because of this doubt wins. Faith cannot support ambivalence. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes from believing what God says in His Word. Faith comes from believing that God is light, and there is no darkness in Him at all.
God does not punish His children. God’s love is perfect and pure. He loves us far more than we can love ourselves and He loves us unconditionally. 1John 4:18(NLT) takes us to school about God’s love. This verse tells us, “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.”
John 3:16 declares that God loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue us from sin, death, and darkness. Because of what God has accomplished through Jesus Christ, we are saved! We can walk in liberty and live the more than abundant life that Jesus Christ made available. God doesn’t punish us. If we will allow Him, He will teach us through His Word how to become more like Christ so that we have hearts that are full of God’s love.
The contents of our hearts are extremely important to the movement of God’s power in our lives. Sometimes we forget this. 2Chronicles 16:9(NKJV) tells us, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” God looks for opportunities to show His strength and power to His children, and the condition of our hearts either opens the door to Him or shuts Him out.
God warns us in Proverbs 4:23(NKJV), “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” We’re to guard our hearts with God’s Word, trusting, believing and putting into action what He says is right and honorable. This verse also informs us with crystal clarity that we live from the inside out. The issues of life stem from what is in our hearts. This means that when we are faced with unfavorable circumstances and conditions, sometimes we must look at what our external or outside reality is revealing about our hearts. There are lessons of love, patience, endurance, and faith that the challenges of life can teach us. If we fail to learn those lessons, the situations that cause them will be on repeat.
Many of us have a habit of praying for the blessing before receiving God’s permission to do so. We haven’t asked His permission, and we haven’t taken the time to study His Word in order to examine whether or not it can be ours. We put the cart before the horse when we seek desires and goals before seeking a clearer understanding of what God requires of us first. We move preemptively without His instruction and direction, and this is never wise.
We will never have the faith to see the manifestation of blessings, goals, and aspirations without finding out the Will of God for our own individual lives. “What does God want for me?” This should be the question on our hearts and minds, and we shouldn’t move until He gives us clarity. Then we should be obedient to pursue His agenda so we can be blessed. When we fulfill God’s purpose, not only are we blessed, but all involved are blessed as well, and the very best outcome is always the result.
We often relegate a holy lifestyle as being only required and applicable to a few. We grossly underestimate God’s allegiance to His desire that we become the very image of Christ, and we underestimate the power and standard of His love that should rest in our hearts. Becoming more like Christ and exercising his power and love daily are foundational to believers, and God does not give us a pass when we ignore this. All our issues and shortcomings will not be addressed in this lifetime, but to the extent that they keep us from loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, our issues and shortcomings must be addressed. Overcoming the thing that blinds us to the blessing we desire is the lesson at hand, and this cannot be overlooked.
Our diligent pursuit of God is non-negotiable. If we ignore or deny pursuing Him with all that we are in any way, we are keeping ourselves from His blessings. We can and should turn this around. Our Heavenly Father has predestined everything about us, even the times and places of our births. Acts 17:27(NIV) says, “God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.” God’s plan for the earth experience of each of us is so we will seek and reach for Him continually. He is never far, but we must be clear that seeking Him preeminently is a must.
Seeking God is a demonstration that we understand He is worthy to be sought, and that He alone is the Source of all good things. In the Old Testament, He told His people in Deuteronomy 4:29(NLT), “But from there you will search again for the LORD your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.” This should be the greatest desire of our hearts, to seek God with all that we are. We must have every confidence that He will meet us in that place of seeking and reward us with guidance and instruction for our lives.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
“Pursue God Diligently”, written for Springfield Fellowship © 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.