Because He Loves

If you are a believer, you are aware of God’s love and faithfulness to us. It is legend, spoken of throughout the Bible and displayed through many historical accounts, parables and psalms. There is a popular hymn titled, “Great is Thy Faithfulness”, which highlights how reliable God is and how he is relentless in his love and true to his promises. We depend on his faithfulness, and maybe, at times, we take it for granted. But have you ever considered that God desires our faithfulness as well? As a matter of fact, the Bible explains that when we love God back, and are faithful to him, it makes a huge difference in our relationship with him. Psalm 91, verses 14 through 16 says: 

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

Jesus says, “if you love me, you will keep my commands”. And the words of God reflected in this psalm explains that if we love him, he will return our faithfulness with love that manifests itself into action. It says that God will rescue us, protect us, answer us when we pray to him, honor us, and it even says that he will give us long life. All of this, while continuing to hold us close to him. If you think about it, it makes sense. When someone returns your love, doesn’t it inspire you to perform acts of love on them? The same can be said about our God.

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Psalm 91 shows how God responds to those who love him; to those who are faithful to him. He lavishes them with love that manifests itself into blessings and promises. God is a living being, with feelings and desires. The Bible tells us that God is jealous for us. And like us, when his feelings of love are returned, it only makes him love us all the more. So I encourage you to remember that yes, you can disappoint God when you disobey him, but you can also stir his love for you when you are faithful to him.

Eyes on You

One thing life teaches us is that anything can happen at any time. We like to think that we have control over our lives, but when major, life-altering issues take us by surprise, we realize that control is an illusion. Though we may be able to control what we wear in the morning, we can’t control if, and when, calamity will strike, or when our circumstances will become too big for us. Believers know that there is always one who is in full control. During those times of uncertainty, struggle or impending doom, I encourage you to do what king Jehoshaphat did in second Chronicles chapter 20, which was to keep his eyes on God. It says in verse 12:

“O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.”

King Jehoshaphat and the nation of Judah was about to be wiped out by an army too large to fight. In that moment, he was reminded that on his own, he had no power or control over the situation. But he did have faith enough to believe in the one who always does. He acknowledged that he had no power to face the army; that left to his own devices, he would die that day. He humbled himself, explaining to God that he didn’t know what to do. But he knew enough to keep his eyes on God. Whenever you find yourself in a bad situation that is too big for you, I encourage you to keep your eyes upon God. Unlike those who don’t believe and are without hope when these things occur, we who do believe have hope; hope in the one who can rescue us, heal us, and save us.

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When king Jehoshaphat saw that his situation was hopeless, he did what many of us would do; he cried out to God. But he didn’t stop there. He put his faith in the one who can save him; the one who is truly in control. He admitted that he had no idea what to do in his own strength, but he kept his eyes on God. There is nothing too big for God. Any situation you have faced, are facing or will face, is well within his control. He made this world with all of the laws that govern it, and he can change and alter those laws if he wants. When Jehoshaphat cried out to God, God answered, and delivered him in a miraculous way. If you’re facing something too big for you, God can deliver you too.

Proclaimed Fast

Have you ever participated in a group fast? Some churches have been known to declare a fast for their entire congregation for a period of time to seek God on a matter. If you’ve had the opportunity to participate in such a fast, I trust that God gave you an answer to the purpose of your fast. Group fasting is biblical. Entire nations have fasted when they’ve needed a move of God, and I believe when God sees this kind of humility and unity amongst his people, he can’t help but meet them in the midst of it. Jehoshaphat found that out when he was faced with war as a vast army was on the move against him. It says in second Chronicles 20, verses 2 through 4: 

“Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, ‘A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Sea. It is already in Hazazon Tamar’. Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed they came from every town in Judah to seek him.”

And when they came together as one and fasted, seeking the Lord earnestly, God answered. He spoke through his prophet telling Judah that he would fight the battle for them. The Bible says that God told them to, “stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you.” Then God set an ambush and the armies ended up fighting against each other. You see, God is always listening. But sometimes, when we have an issue that is urgent, when we have a problem that requires a miracle, nothing gets God’s attention faster than believers fasting, praying and crying out to him. Jehoshaphat proclaimed a nationwide fast, and the whole nation of Judah answered that call. Maybe our churches, and even our nation, should take a page out of Jehoshaphat’s playbook.

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You may have fasted on your own when you’ve had an urgent issue to bring before the Lord. And if so, that is very biblical. But it is also biblical for large groups of believers to fast, and as second Chronicles puts it, “to come together to seek help from the Lord.” Our urgency and earnestness can influence God. When as a group we fast and cry out to the Lord, I believe that he sees our heightened urgency and in realizing how utterly desperate we are, responds accordingly. Of course, God knows what we need before we even ask him, but this portion of scripture proves that it is always helpful when he knows that we know that as well.

Overcome Evil

I am so happy that Jesus modeled the way we are to live, because some of his commands sound impossible in theory. But, because he was able to model it for us, I have hope that we can accomplish it as well. Take for example the command from Romans chapter 12, verse 21. Sure, Paul wrote it, but Jesus definitely modeled it. It says: 

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

It makes sense to want to answer evil with evil. If someone hits you, it is natural to want to hit them back. If someone wrongs you, it is natural to wish judgment upon that person, but that is not the way we, as believers, are supposed to respond. We are called to overcome evil with good. In essence, we are called to go against our nature to accomplish a godly outcome. So, instead of wanting the person who wronged you to get what is coming to them, we are to treat them with love. Hopefully, you and I can be like Jesus when we are wronged so that we are not overcome by evil, but that we overcome evil with good.

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“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”. It is difficult to do, and it goes against our fleshly nature, but isn’t that how it is with many of God’s commands? To be an effective Christian is to obey God’s word even when it goes against what we want or how we feel. Loving our enemies is difficult. And to take action to show that love with good deeds is even harder. But when we do, I believe the spiritual word is shaken. A darkness can lift off of our enemy, and conviction or even healing can begin to occur. This is certainly one area where God wants us to take the high road. Are you willing?

No Discrimination

Do you harbor any form of prejudice in your heart? For example, do you look down on the homeless and view them as a stain on society? Do you harbor negative feelings toward an ethnic group, the gay community or even hate groups? Do you think of, or treat others differently, who don’t agree with your world view even though your world view may be Christian? If you do, remember that true love is all inclusive. We need to learn how to love every soul even if, at the moment, that soul may be opposed to our world view or live contrary to our way of life. We need to really love our neighbor as we love ourselves no matter who they are. We need to treat everyone as Jesus would treat them. James chapter 2, verses 8 and 9 tells us: 

“If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.”

You may have heard it said regarding sinners and unbelievers that we should “love the person, but hate the sin.” Though that may be true, I believe that many Christians find it difficult to separate the two. The Bible tells us that our battle isn’t against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Every person was created by God, and every person has a soul; a soul that God wants to save. The Bible reminds us that it isn’t God’s desire that any should perish. Any of us. We are all people, loved by God so much that he died for us… all of us. John 3:16 says, “for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” In light of these truths we need to evaluate what it truly means to love the person, but hate the sin. For all people we should never discriminate, we should not show favoritism because as James says, when we do, “we sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.”

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James says that, “if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.” We need to truly love our neighbors as we love ourselves because remember, without Jesus, we could’ve been one of the people we currently abhor. We could’ve been that which we revile the most. We could’ve been the worst of sinners, misguided, and maybe even one who preys on the innocent. But as far as our walk with the Lord is concerned, we are not to discriminate. If God loves the world, we should too. I pray that we all learn how to truly love the person, while at the same time hating the sin; realizing that these are two separate entities. Our job is to show the love of Christ while allowing the Holy Spirit to help us in that effort.