Last week I mentioned the number 1 thing on my TO DO list every day is this:
#1 be loved and listen
But just because it is #1 doesn’t mean being loved by God and listening to Him is always easy. Some mornings it is great. I feel like I am stepping into a room where my best friend is waiting, and His face lights up when He sees me. (He always is, by the way, no matter how I feel.) But other times, it feels like there is a 3-inch steel door between my heart and God’s love. And often I don’t even know why.
Impossible. How in the world can I embrace God’s love when I don’t even feel like talking to Him or reading His word? Where do I even start?
For me, thanksgiving is the key that opens that door. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says “In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” But I can’t just murmur broad-brush platitudes I don’t mean. He sees through this, even if I don’t. I have to be honest about what I am thankful for. And frankly, I am not thankful for the way I am feeling at the moment. So I start something like this:
Thank you, Father, that I don’t always feel like this. Thank you that you love me right where I am, no matter what attitude I have or what mood I am in. Thank you that You understand whatever is going on with me right now, even when I don’t have a clue. Thank you that you can pull me out of whatever miry pit I am stuck in and put my feet back on the rock.
Thank you. That my feelings are just feelings—not fact. And that the facts never change. You. You are real. You are here and you love me more than I can wrap my mind around. No matter where my emotions carry me, or how badly (or well) I behave, nothing I feel or think or do can make you love me more, or cause You to love me less.
Thank you that I don’t have to earn you love. I can’t. It is a gift. So opposite of our transactional culture, where everything seems to cost something.
Thank you that you are teaching me how to receive Your love–to live in it–more and more every day.
Thank you that “The steadfast love of the Lord never fails. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness, O God.” Lamentations 3:22-23
Do you ever feel like there is an impenetrable barrier between you and God? Please take a moment to share with the rest of us!
Don’t miss the other posts in this series!
First Things First, Part 1: #1 On My To-Do List
First Things First, Part 3: Listen
First Things First Part 4: How God Can Speak Through the Bible
First Things First, Part 5: How to Get Back on Track with God When Life Happens
First Things First, Part 6: Why Listening to God is So Important
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