What do you think is the one word God would use to describe how he feels about you, specifically? Think about that for a minute.
I read a study on this topic and I guess the word that was most common didn’t really surprise me. Because it was the word that I thought of first, too. Did you come up with something?
The most common word that Christians said they believed God felt, when he thought about them, was “disappointed”.
Isn’t that something? Logic might lead you to believe the word should be “love”. As Christians we’re taught that God loves us no matter what. But I think it’s a lot easier to believe that’s true in the general sense like, yeah God loves us all…
But it’s not quite as easy to believe that he loves each of us, specifically and individually.
Doing God’s Will
We may come to accept that God loves us, but deep down, I think we often have a sense that he has so much more for us, that we just aren’t accessing. That we are disappointing him somehow, that we could be doing more for others and receiving more blessings if we would just trust God and submit to his will.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways submit to him, and he will make straight your paths. Pr. 3:5-6
I so struggle with the ‘trust’ and ‘submission’ part of that scripture, which of course go hand-in-hand. I think trust, submission and obedience are the big three when it comes to showing God our faith.
My own real problem is in obedience. I feel like I know there are certain things God wants me to do, but because of fear I can’t bring myself to do them. I say I trust, I want to submit, but ultimately I fail in obedience. Why? Fear of failure, mostly. Because I worry about what others will think of me, even though I feel that God wants me to do certain things.
Maybe there is a reason so many of us answer the above question with “disappointed”. Because perhaps, it is half-true. Maybe God Is disappointed. Thinking about this earlier, I came up with…when I do not obey God, and submit to his will, doing what I know he wants me to do, he is not disappointed IN me, he is disappointed FOR me.
BIG difference.
It’s like with our own kids. When we watch them venture into the world and try new things; whether it’s joining a group of toddlers at preschool, saying ‘yes’ to taking off the training wheels on their bike…or later; trying out for the basketball team, volunteering at church, or auditioning for the school play…we’re so happy that our kids are willing to step out. When they decide not to try something that we know they would really benefit from, we’re not disappointed IN them, we’re disappointed FOR them. For a missed opportunity.
It’s no different with God.
Trust Over Fear
He has so many good things in store for us, if we would just listen for his voice, trust him, and act in obedience. Yes, it can be scary, yes it’s weird sometimes, yes, we might fail…But how will you ever know if you don’t step out?
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, and are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
If we never trust God and take a leap of faith, we’ll never know what good thing we might have been able to participate in.
Fear of failure is a huge stumbling block for so many of us. But God’s love for us is not tied to our success. He loves me right now as much as he ever will. And if I obey and do everything he asks of me, and all kinds of wonderful things happen because of my obedience, God is still not going to love me anymore than he loves me right this minute. That is such a difficult thing to fathom! But it is a truth that is in Scripture, and for me it’s one of the hardest things to accept. That no matter what I do God loves me. And he loves you.
Thank goodness he gave us children and parenthood to give us a small shadow, an echo of what he feels for us. But it’s just that – an echo. God’s love is infinitely bigger than the love that we can ever possibly dream of possessing, even for our own children. Because God Is love. He’s the source of all love, he invented it. Without him, being loved, or loving someone else would not be possible.
This is why “LOVE” should be the word that we know God feels, when he thinks of us.
So, back to trusting God. What are you sensing that God is telling you to do? I felt prompted in my heart to write this blog. And I’ve been resisting it and I’ve been putting it off. And I’ve been hesitating. But no more. For Lent, I’m going to jump in and do it. I’m going to try to post every week. And I ask you to join me because I really need your feedback. (Please subscribe, top right, for notifications of posts →)
But I’ll also ask you to join me in searching your own heart for what you really feel and really sense God is asking of you. And then going out there and doing it. Don’t worry, he’ll direct your steps, he’ll guide you – he’s got your back. #TrustHim
Sherry,
I look so forward to your posts. The timing of this one is incredibly amazing. I was discussing this very fact with my husband only 2 days ago. I expressed my inability to accept God’s powerful, unconditional love because I feel so unworthy, so imperfect. Not that I am a bad person, just so imperfect. How can such a powerful God love ME?
Thoughts like I should have done or could done more good, better ways that I could have handled a work situation, or words of comfort that I should have provided to a coworker or neighbor, etc. can be quite overwhelming. The devil is tireless in the delivery of these thoughts of imperfection and unworthiness.
Perhaps it is a matter of finding self love to feel God’s love….
Your post serves as a focusing, heart warming reminder that God loves us no matter how unworthy we are. God IS LOVE. What an amazing, miraculous, and comforting truth.
Thanks so much for your feedback, Patty. I relate to Everything you said. ‘How can such a powerful God love me?’ And you make a great point. It IS the enemy fostering these thoughts. As Peter says ‘The enemy prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.’ There is not much credence given to this in today’s society, but that doesn’t make it any less a reality. ‘Finding self love to feel God’s love…’ I like that so much. Maybe we need to stop beating ourselves up over every little thing. God’s grace covers all that. Thanks for the inspiration!
I love that you said God is not disappointed “in” you but “for” you. God loves us unconditionally yet we don’t understand. We call ourselves imperfect (and we are) and we rely on that imperfection to define our failure to meet God’s expectation. But it’s the world that tells us we are not living up to God not God himself. What He tells us is to love Him and love others. You mentioned your kids in your posting and I am reminded of a message by Steve Norman at Kensington Church last year where he said a father experiences Gods love when he holds his new born child for the first time. He knows that this person will be a drain on his resources, will be a source of frustration and angst in the years ahead. But looking at that new born face he realizes that this is a love that is not of this world. It’s unconditional. It’s the kind of love that will allow him to walk into a burning building at full risk to himself to save the life of this child. It’s like he has only just met this little person, seen the face for the first time but he knows that there is no limit to what he wouldn’t do. That is unlike any love he has known. And it’s because the child is his.
That is how God loves me.
He loves me through my flaws. He loves me despite my shortcomings. He loves me with the full measure of the universe. But He is patient and will wait as long as it takes for me to realize that I don’t have to worry about disappointing Him. It’s a gift I am not worthy to receive. But He gives it anyway.
Great observations and insights! Thanks for your comments 🙂