Sherri Sand's Blog, page 4

How Well Do We Love?

What would happen if we took time to listen?

I’ve been learning a few things lately. Things like how people have experienced me differently than I intended.

It’s eye opening. And not necessarily pleasant.

I think I’m being efficient in directing teenagers to pick up the house, but they hear a drill sergeant at boot camp.

So I’ve begun asking my family how they are experiencing me. Why? Because my desire is intimate connection with my hubby and each one of my kids.

The key to honest feedback is a safe environment to share.

So, I can’t get defensive. I can’t blame. I can’t deflect.

I need to listen with my heart. With love.

Danny Silk explains how we may think we know how other people experience us, but we don’t. Not by a long shot. The only way to truly know is to ask:

“I was wondering if you have any feedback for me about how this went?”
“I was wondering how you experienced me in this situation?”
“I really appreciate that feedback. Is there anything else?”

And the purpose of asking is so we become aware of what is coming out of us and landing on other people.

So we first have to ask ourselves, do we want to love people in their journey or do we want to control their journey so it matches our goals for their lives?

Especially with the people closest to us. Do we see their lives as partially ours to direct or control? Do we see them (or their choices) as an extension or reflection of us, or as a separate entity from us?

Do they have to please us or agree with us to gain our approval and love? Or can they disagree, even at a core value level, and still feel fully loved and accepted? (Acceptance isn’t agreement with their choices. Acceptance chooses to see people as capable of managing themselves without our interference—–even when we don’t agree.)

Fear and Love Aren’t Compatible

What kind of relationships do we want?

When we get outward compliance or agreement from someone who doesn’t truly agree with us, there is fear in the relationship. And fear creates distance.

So do we need things to look a certain way (i.e. kids whose values agree with ours, friends whose political viewpoints are in line with ours), or can we love people and accept where they are without getting all twisted inside.

That twist is rooted in fear. If one of our kids violates godly principles and chooses sex outside of marriage, how do we handle that?

Do we try to project enough disapproval to shame them back inside the lines of our faith, or do we trust them enough to manage their own journey and God enough to love them to Him?

Do we try to become a little god in our own home because we are afraid of a bad outcome if we don’t?

It’s fear in us that tries to control others and it’s fear in them that keeps them from being honest with us.

Can we love people that don’t live the way we think they should?

Jesus never dealt harshly with people who lived sinful lifestyles. The only ones He dealt with harshly were the ones who tried to control others and lacked the Father’s love. The Pharisees.

He spoke truth with copious amounts of love. How do we know this? Because sinners LOVED him. They followed Him around in droves. He never watered down truth, but He loved so well that people wanted to hang around him all the time.

Prayer

Father, How me to see myself honestly, and through the eyes of Your love. I want to be immersed in love even as I speak and live in truth. Help me to understand how fear operates in me and hinders the intimacy I want with the people around me. Help me to love myself and others well. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Do We Live from the Cross or the Tomb?

Which side of the cross do we live from? Needing a Savior or walking with the Savior?

Jesus dying on the cross is everything to a believer. But it is only the starting point. It is the beginning of our walk with Him.

Because there’s the tomb. The empty one that we don’t talk much about except at Easter.

Everything in our Christian walk should come from the tomb. From the place of victory and power and new life.

But are we really living from that place? Or are we just enduring this life?

I see such a contrast between what believers say they agree with and how they live their lives.

When a pastor proclaims, “God is good!” and other rock solid truths, I see most of the church get amped up in agreement. There is wholehearted belief, but do they grab hold of the power of truth and walk it out?

I’m wondering if there is a disconnect between what we say we believe and how we actually live?

I have a friend who called some church leaders to her home for help. She said, “I keep reading about peace and joy in the Bible and I don’t have it. Why?”

That’s a very good question. And I think more of us might want to ask it.

Why are we not living in abundance? Why are we not the walking Good News to the world around us?

I wonder if in part we need to clean up some messes we’ve made. Repent for gossiping and complaining and the like. But I believe we wouldn’t trip into those traps if we really knew Jesus as best friend. As the lover of our souls. As a powerful God who has answers to our difficulties.

Why do so many of us live from frustration and lack? Why do we feel more like orphan beggars than beloved children of the King.

The answer lies in a lack of intimacy with Him. But do we really want that intimacy? Do we want to take risks and try doing greater things than He did (John 14:12)?

There is risk in loving people and opening ourselves up to rejection. But He took the rejection, so He is right there to comfort us when we are rejected for risking ourselves for Him.

I think we focus on the cross so much because we feel so unworthy and unrighteous. So we sit at the foot of that cross living in a state of continual repentance instead of walking out the freedom Jesus died to give us.

I wonder if we don’t truly believe or accept that righteousness is a gift to us (2 Cor. 5:21, Rom. 3:22). That we’ve actually been given right standing with God. We have it. It is not something to be earned.

But when we don’t understand that righteousness is a gift, we’ll struggle. We won’t grasp that it is about right standing (freely given, not earned), not right doing.

We need to start kicking the liar out of our lives and taking back the ground he’s stolen. Satan may have some holds on our lives, but he is a squatter need to evict.

Prayer

Father, help me to understand all that You’ve done for me and freely given to me. Help me to grab hold of the freedom that is mine. Help me learn to capture the lying thoughts that bring such negativity to my life. Show me how to appropriate your power in my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Is it Prideful to Think We Are Amazing?

Are we God’s most amazing creation?

We are. The Bible tells us this over and over. But do we see ourselves as amazing?

I think we often minimize our greatness because we don’t want to become arrogant, or come across as prideful.

We don’t want to get puffed up by self.

But when we recognize that we are amazing because of who made us, how can that be pride of self?

Thousands of tourists travel each year to see the Sistine Chapel and the Statue of David. They stand in awe and marvel at the beauty of these masterpieces.

If these works of art could talk, would they shrug and argue that they weren’t that great? Would they lessen their magnificence so as to not appear conceited?

Or would they proclaim truth? “You bet! I am amazing, because the master saw greatness where others saw a barren ceiling or a dull chunk of marble. My master saw me and called me forth. He sketched/painted/chiseled me into the greatness you see here.”

Why would we ever lessen the brilliance of God by minimizing the greatness of His most valued creation—–us?

And how could we ever begin to believe that we aren’t utterly captivating and intoxicating when Jesus lives inside us? And we are being changed from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18)?

If God is amazing (and He is), then everything He touches and creates is going to be magnificent (Gen. 1:31).

Yes, there has been corruption to His creation, but Jesus redeemed that at the cross. And we get to work out our shortcomings in His presence. He doesn’t look at us and cringe, He looks at us and beams with delight and wonder.

God is in awe of us. (Not in the sense that we are greater than Him, but in the sense of wonder and heart expanding love.) And He made all the beauty that surrounds us for us.

Don’t you love blessing your kids with gifts? God gave you that desire, because it’s His desire to lavish His kids with all of His goodness. What we feel as parents is what He feels toward us. It begins with Him (James 1:17, Rom. 11:36).

Everything God created He called good. The fall corrupted God’s creation, but Jesus broke the curse so we can be restored. And who is the Restorer of our souls? Jesus.

When we stay connected to the Master, the created never looks anywhere but to Him for their value. He is incredibly amazing, and we are our Father’s kids.

Made in His image, we are amazing (Gen. 1:26)

Prayer

Jesus, thank you that I am Your amazing creation. Thank you for the good news that You look at me and marvel. You delight in giving me good things, loving me with fullness and abundance, and redeeming all the junk that my choices and others’ choices have brought to my life. Help me to see myself and others as You do. In Jesus name, amen.

Photos via Pixabay

Does God Ever Cringe When He Looks at Us?

How does Jesus look at us and not cringe at times?

I believe it’s because He sees us in two different dimensions. He sees us as we are now (though without frustration toward our sin because He has already dealt with it), and He sees who we will become.

As Graham Cooke states it, God does not look at us and see Present-Past. He sees us as Present-Future. Why? Because He has dealt with our past and He’s not interested in who we were, but in who we are becoming.

How exciting for us! How amazing that we don’t have to dwell on our failures, but look with anticipation to what He is doing in us.

We tend to be a people who dwell on past mistakes. I’ve heard leaders say, “Think about the worst thing you’ve ever done. God is bigger than that.”

But if God isn’t thinking about the worst thing we’ve ever done, why are we dredging it up? Wouldn’t it be so much more fruitful to dwell on the possibilities God has for us and for the lives of the people we love?

To live in fullness and hope, we have to see ourselves and our situations as God does.

Take Jesus and the woman at the well. He told her that she had had five husbands and the man she was currently living with wasn’t her husband. Did Jesus do that to point out and convict her of sin (John 4:4-32)?

I don’t think so. I think He was demonstrating a word of knowledge (I Cor. 12:8) to get her attention so He could share the radically good news.

It changed her life. That’s what God is into doing. Changing lives and bringing lost and hurting sheep back into His arms.

If He didn’t condemn a woman who was deep in sin and had made a mess of her life, why do we think He is disappointed with us?

In His immense love and wisdom, He dealt with our sin so He can help us with our stuff.

He’s not bothered by our junk as much as we are.

A bride is both cherished and treasured. We are His bride. And Jesus deserves a purified and beaming bride. So what is God’s focus? Cleaning us up. Helping us remove the gunk that slimes us. He wants a bride who longs for Him and all that He has for us.

But do we want to be cleaned up? Or are we a little afraid of what that might mean for our lives?

Will that result in changes we don’t like?

A good dad gives good and perfect gifts to His kids. I’ve never seen God remove something without replacing it with an incredibly better something that brings life and fullness.

Since He designed us, and He is good beyond comprehension, don’t you think perhaps He has a plan for our lives and our freedom that will completely stoke us? Make us all kinds of excited?

Make us a glowing, joyful light on a hill that will stir those lost and hungry ones to climb up and see what He is all about?

He has never disappointed me. The only disappointment I’ve faced is when, in my lack of understanding, I’ve tried to bend His will to my desired outcome.

Through that, I’ve learned to embrace the truth that His ways are not like man’s. His ways are higher

(Isaiah 55:8-9). Greater. Beyond comprehension. He is all that is good.

Prayer

Jesus, thank you for everything You’ve done for me. Help me to see myself through Your eyes. I want to have the same excitement for myself and my life that You do. I want to walk more closely with You every day. In Jesus name, amen.

Photos via Pixabay

Why Do We Feel the Need to Defend God?

We are to be light to a dark world, right? (Matt. 5:14-16)

So how do we do that practically?

How do we “go into all the world preaching the gospel” when we have a hard enough time getting our kids to go to church? (Mark 16:15)

How do we portray love when we often lack that vital ingredient? I don’t mean that we don’t love other people. I’m wondering how well we love the people who don’t share our values?

The other day God nudged me to go read at a coffee shop I rarely visit just to relax. It’s small, so the coffee grinder nearly reverberates inside your head.

Another couple came in and we got to chatting. They shared that they are both liberal, with one an atheist and the other leaning toward Buddhism.

Controversial topics came up in an off-hand way. If I had lacked love, a chasm of religious and philosophical differences would have opened up between us.

If I feared them or their belief systems, I would have mentally stepped into judgment and they would have felt disapproval rolling off me.

But instead I enjoyed getting to know them, without agenda. Just listening and caring.

Us Versus Them

I grew up in an “us” versus “them” church structure. The “world” was seen as dangerous for Christians. But I wonder if it’s because when you live in a rules-oriented environment, rather than in a relationship with a God who thinks you are amazing, temptations become stronger. So we start fearing the pull of the flesh.

But when we focus on discovering how amazing God thinks we are (rather than sin-management) and gaining our identity from His joy in us (rather than our failures), it’s not so hard to say no to harmful choices.

We are powerful people with an amazing identity. When we recognize this, people who are different than us don’t make us so uncomfortable.

Then we can be vessels of love.

God asks us to love, not judge. He is big enough and certainly powerful enough to defend Himself and His standards. And there are times He asks us to take a stand and be His voice.

We aren’t to lay down and let ungodly agendas win.

But there is a difference between fighting agendas and fighting people.

I just wonder if sometimes we are afraid that if we don’t defend God to the people around us, that they will think we agree with their sin. How many of our family members have truly changed their ways because of our disapproval?

Punishment is an ineffective behavior changer. But love is powerful.

Love creates a pathway for God to travel and touch people’s hearts.

There is a reason Jesus was considered a drunkard and a partier by the religiously correct of His day.

He wouldn’t have been embraced by the people the church rejected if they hadn’t felt loved and accepted.

As this couple and I chatted, I was able to share about a portion of my journey with God. While in college, I read in the Bible how God commanded His people to circumcise baby boys on their eighth day of life. I recalled how controlling that seemed. And dictatorial. Then in the proceeding weeks, a medical study came out stating how the eighth day of life was the safest day to perform a circumcision.

Wow! Suddenly I saw the love of God protecting His people who had no antibiotics or health care. And it struck the gal I spoke with as well.

God is looking for ways to love others through us, but we have to first know how loved we are.

Prayer

Father God, teach me how to trust You at new levels. How to hold Your hand when life seems difficult or unfair. Let me see people through Your eyes. I want to love myself and others as You do. In Jesus name, amen.

Photos via Pixabay

Does God Discipline Like We Do?

Does God discipline His kids like we do our own?

Have you noticed that God can’t control His kids? Not even Adam and Eve, in their perfect sinless state.

That’s actually not a true statement. It’s not that God can’t control His kids, it’s that He doesn’t choose to control them. It would only take a little lightning therapy to get them in line, most likely. But God doesn’t opt to use His power to dictate outward behavior.

I don’t know that He’s even focused on our outward behavior.

What does register on His meter is much more internal and central to determining behavior…the heart.

God is overwhelmingly focused on our hearts. Because, what is in our hearts—–good or bad—–is going to show up in our behavior.

In general, people tend to focus on other’s behavior and try to motivate them to improve or change it. Whether through guilt and manipulation or by encouragement.

God looks less at what we are doing and more at the roadblocks in our hearts that prevent us from sustaining positive changes in our actions.

The other day, I sat in my favorite chair with a comfy blanket draped, ready to enjoy a good book and a delicious homemade brownie. Remembering something I’d forgotten in the other room, I hopped up to get it. When I returned, there was Milo, our furry, four-legged food-a-holic, front legs braced on the end table licking the frosting off my brownie!

I roared and charged. He cowered down in guilt, apologizing with everything within him.

Immediately, I felt guilty for having scared him in my anger (I know he’s a dog, but I’d clearly traumatized the little food addict).

As I pulled him close and comforted him, it occurred to me that Jesus would have handled that situation totally different than I had. He doesn’t roar and charge when we misbehave.

So I asked Him how He would have handled it if I had been Milo.

Immediately, I had a picture of Him looking at me with such kindness, showing me how my choice hurt me. He wasn’t upset and He wasn’t disappointed (as Graham Cooke puts it in his English accent, “God never gets disillusioned with us, because He never had any illusions to begin with).

Too often, we try to step into God’s shoes to see how He evaluates us, wondering how He could possibly be anything but disappointed by our choices.

But since God has dealt with our sin, there is no festering anger that gets in the way of His all consuming love for us. And His focus becomes helping us become fully who He designed us to be.

He doesn’t get bothered by our lack, He just cheers us on. “Come on, sweetie. Get back up. Look, you made it two hours without  (fill in the blank)  this time.”

Knowing He is wildly in love with us, and our greatest advocate makes it so much easier to go to Him with our junk.

He’s not bothered by our stuff, so why are we? (In that, why do agree with the accuser who tries to guilt and condemn us?). God’s given us freedom, we just get to learn to walk in it.

He’s right there to pick us up each time we fall.

Prayer

Jesus, thank you for Your goodness and kindness. Help me to walk the path You’ve set before me. Give me eyes to see what is of You and what is not. Please strengthen me to say no to the things that aren’t from You and bring me freedom from the enemy’s snares. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Photo of Milo

Photo via Pixabay

 

 

How Do We Let Love Lead Us?

I’ve recently been listening to some podcasts by a pastor named Robert Henderson. He suggests a pretty cool prayer: God, I want to see like you see, think like you think, and feel like you feel.

So I started praying it. And holy moly, my thinking began to change. And I started to see people differently. With more compassion and less judgment. It’s been amazing!

There is something so freeing in loving people where they are and for who they are. Not picking apart life style choices or parenting choices or anything else we don’t agree with. Love doesn’t focus on what “is not” in their lives; it calls them into who God designed them to be.

We all want to be loved and we want people to see potential in us, not failure.

My two teen drivers have taken over my Suburban, and with a third about to turn fifteen, we decided it was time for me upgrade and downsize. Newer and blessedly smaller. So after a hunt on auto trader, we made our purchase and I flew out to Michigan to drive it home.

As I sailed along the freeway, I made the hands free call to activate my satellite radio. Apparently, the trial period had ended with the previous owner and I wasn’t eligible for the program. But rather than speedily sharing this info and ending the call, the customer service person kept asking me redundant questions. Repeatedly. After answering the same question for the fifth time I was about to express my frustration, but sensed the Lord offering me an alternative.

Love.

What Love Does…

The irritation melted away as I felt love for this woman start blossoming inside me. My voice gentled and I no longer felt the urge to gain the upper hand.

Love triumphs! When we ended the call I felt peaceful, without any residual irritation that normally lingers after those kind of interactions.

How often do we choose love instead of offense?

I think love often illuminates our identity.

When we know who we are, we can choose love and choose to lay down our rights. We don’t have anything to prove when we know how beloved and valued we are by God. But when we don’t know our identity, we will constantly work to prove that we are valuable and we become protective of our rights.

What I discovered in my interaction with the customer service gal, is that love is humble. I laid down my right to be right. I chose the greater thing—–kindness and love. It isn’t a great thing to make another person feel small just to assert ourselves and our rights.

I used to see humility as weakness. I thought humble people were a bit passive because they often let wrongs slide by. What I didn’t understand was they weren’t letting things just slide by…they’d made a choice to let it go. To not pick up an offense. To choose to love instead of a fight that leaves no clear winner.

Truly humble people are actually powerful people. It takes knowing who we are and the knowledge that other people are innately valuable and deserving of honor to lay aside our rights. To love instead of dishonoring or humiliating. To let things go and trust God, instead of entering squabbles that elevate principles above people.

Love expands our capacity for greatness. It opens us up and allows God’s light to shine.

Prayer

Father, teach me how to choose love instead of offense or irritation. I want to see as You see, think as You think and feel as You feel. Teach me how to walk in the greater things of love. To lay aside my rights and see people as You do. I ask that You give me a revelation of Your love for me and my identity in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Photos via Pixabay 

 

 

 

Are We Living As Ambassadors of Love?

Do we use our gifts to restore or to tear down?

I’m beginning to realize that people don’t mess up on purpose.

So why do I find myself becoming irritable if I have to repeat myself to TDH or one of the kids? They didn’t not hear or misunderstand on purpose. (Except for our two oldest boys who have made a game out of seeing how many times they can get me to repeat myself before I catch on.)

But I have noticed that my irritation level goes up or down in direct proportion to how connected I am to God. (Notice I didn’t say how much time I’ve spent reading the Bible or in a quiet time—–I’m talking about living in connection with Him. In tune with Him. Knowing He’s an elbow-length away.)

When I’m connected, the faucet of love is turned on in my heart. When I’m not, there is nary a trickle going into my tank.

And when that tank is dry, my family and that school secretary, or that coffee barista is getting just plain ol’ me. And the disconnected me isn’t the one you want to pal around with.

No one deserves our worst self. We have a very limited amount of time to love people enough that they want to know why. Would we rather be right…or be kind, so Jesus can open a door to them?

When I’m connected to Jesus, it’s a no-brainer. Treat me abominably and I’m here to love you regardless. Disconnected? I will verbally fillet you.

What if the enemy sees that God is sending you into Starbucks to leak Jesus to the annoying barista? The one who rarely gets your order right or can’t stop smacking her gum.

The enemy is going to do all he can to create a clash instead of a connection.

What if God has sent us in as His emissaries of love and we pull out our swords? Not to lop off the enemy’s head, but to use them on someone who doesn’t know Jesus? Or who is a baby believer (and we just shoved them out of the cradle instead of kissing their downy little head—–not that it’s an easy image to keep in mind when that baby believer is 160 pounds of tattoos and attitude).

How tragic that we let the little things prevent us from walking in the greater things?

Do we really understand what it means to be His ambassadors of love?

It doesn’t mean that we become walking doormats, but it does help if we are in connection to God so we know when we are to lay our rights down in love and when we are to stand up and speak truth in love.

Both are necessary. But if we get them out of order or in the wrong timing, we can cause serious harm.

There is a reason God wrote in His book, “Love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)

Shower with love and give God an opportunity to woo someone’s heart.

Prayer

Papa God, help me not to get trapped in the enemy’s snares and trip out of love and into offense. Let me be a friend that You can pour Your love through to others. Teach me what love looks like. A smile, a kind word. Letting a snarky comment pass and instead choosing a gentle response. Work out the areas in me that need to be removed and replace them with love. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Photos via Pixabay 

Photo by Greg Westfall via Flickr

Lion photo via Picasa

 

What Is Our Christian Mandate?

The other day I was listening to Christian radio and the disc jockey said that the greatest thing we can do is to surrender our lives to Christ.

Comments encouraging people to do the right “Christian” thing make me twist inside. My heels start digging in as I feel the push of the law. So I mentally stepped back and examined what he said.

Do I agree that the greatest thing we can do is surrender our lives to Jesus Christ?

No, I don’t.

I believe the greatest thing we can do is step into relationship with Jesus. Does that require surrender? Yes. But is surrender the ultimate goal? I don’t think so.

If you are a parent, is your greatest desire for your children to obey your mandates?

Not for me. My heart’s desire is that my kids and I have a deeply connected and honest relationship with each other.

Does obedience come out of that? It does, though not perfectly, and it’s not the highest goal. And it’s often in working through our mess-ups (theirs and mine) that our connection goes to a deeper, more intimate and trusting level.

So if our goal is surrendering our lives to Christ, where does that leave relationship with Him?

My goal is to know the person of Jesus at the deepest, most intimate level possible. As that happens I eagerly surrender my life and my will and my time to Him. Surrender becomes a by-product, not the goal.

I don’t want to live by mandates that focus on doing the “right” thing. When being model Christians (i.e. trying to eradicate sin from our lives and working to obey every New Testament biblical command) where does that leave Jesus?

I wonder if it leaves us working to become like Him, but never truly knowing Him.

A focus on living by good rules leads us back under the law and the person of Jesus gets pushed farther away as we work so hard to please Him.

When our focus is Jesus, obedience naturally develops. It’s a by-product of connection with Him.

I spent a lot of years trying to please God, trying to perfect my behavior. Trying to be the perfect Christian that He would smile upon. I lived under a tremendous amount of shame and continuous self-judgment, focusing primarily on what I lacked in godly behavior and giftedness.

My joy was more often circumstantial than internal.

And then I began to discover what the cross truly means for each one of us:

Jesus took what I deserved (punishment), so I could have what He deserved (righteousness and the delight of the Father).

I wonder what would happen if many of us set aside our goal of obedience to Jesus, and made intimacy with Him the focus. What do you think would happen with our obedience?

I think we’d find ourselves living the greatest commandment: Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Loving ourselves. And loving others Matt. 22:36-40).

Behavior takes care of itself when we are filled with Love.

Prayer

Papa God, I want to know Your goodness at the deepest level possible. I want to sense Your smile when You look at me. Teach me about Your love and mercy, Your abundance and Your desire to pour out Your goodness upon me. You are good! I want Your goodness to flow through me to bless those around me. I want to live from a place of abundance, centered in Your kingdom. Thank you! In Jesus’ name, amen.

Photos via Pixabay 

 

Do We Disappoint God?

Does God feel disappointed when we sin?

Before we dig into that, we need to uncover our biases.

How do we approach God’s view of us. Do we put ourselves in His shoes? (I think we often do this unconsciously. After all, that is our only point of reference.) Do we approach the question from a scriptural basis? Or do we look at through the Father’s heart?

Naturally, we can’t actually separate scripture from the Father’s heart, but I think many of us attempt to do just that. With risky consequences. Unless we are sitting with Holy Spirit and asking Him questions and waiting for revelation, we will read scripture through our personal (and often tainted) lens. We need His insight so we don’t lean on our own faulty thinking (Prov. 3:5).

So, when we try to apply our lens to what we think God’s perspective is, this is what we get: Finite man, with limited understanding, trying to ascertain how infinite God, whose ways are higher than our ways, thinks.

We are natural beings; God is supernatural.

Human Reasoning Doesn’t Apply To God

What concerns us (death, money, health, our children’s success…) doesn’t pull on Him in the same way. He is a daddy to our “childish” concerns. A daddy cares, never demeans, but helps His children understand that what they see as huge and world ending is actually much smaller compared to the more important things. And it’s His job to teach them about those more important things. It’s why we go from glory to glory in our understanding.

If you think about it, what concerns you at twenty probably isn’t a blip on the map at forty. And what concerns you at forty will likely be marginal at sixty.

So we can’t use our human reasoning to determine what God is thinking or feeling. We need to find out, not guess. Not shape our behavior or our approach to Him from a foundation of guesses.

If I think He’s disappointed with me, it’s going to change how I approach Him. If I believe He’s pleased with me and disappointment isn’t part of our relationship, that’s going to create a whole different approach.

So this is a very important question to get resolved, as it impacts our ability to go to deep levels of intimacy with Him.

God gave me a dream one night and in it He asked three questions.

Does He get angry/disappointed with His people?
What was the purpose of the cross?
Was the purpose fulfilled?

Starting with question #2 (we’ll circle back to #1) — Jesus died as us on the cross. He became all of our sins and a curse so the wrath of God would be poured out on Him and not us, and the law could be fulfilled (2 Cor. 5:21, Gal. 3:13, Rom. 3:24-26, Rom. 4:4-8).

Question #3 — Was God’s purpose fulfilled? If all of God’s anger was poured out on Jesus (for our sins), how much anger does He have left for our present sins? None. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Our present sin was on the cross 2000 years ago and has been dealt with.

Now, in our current dismal failure, rather than feeling His wrath, we should feel His arm wrapped around our shoulders as He gently says, “Sweetie, this issue right here where you yell when you’re angry, or you drink when you’re sad, or you look at pornography? You’re missing an experience of Me that will heal and free you. Can I help you with that?

So we don’t get His disappointment or His anger, we get His love and His Father’s heart to help and heal and make us whole.

Prayer

Father, thank you for the beautiful gift of salvation! That I get to walk in the sacrifice of what Jesus did for me and bask in Your love and acceptance. Teach me to love and accept myself as You do. Help me to see myself through the eyes of Your love and help me to love others in the same way. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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