Yesterday I came across this meme. A lot of times when I see something like this, I just pass it over or give it a quick glance. But the more I read this one it made me think, we know what we need in a loving relationship and God does each of these things for us. Each of these things is not humanly possible for another human to measure up to completely, but God can.
I believe we have an issue with thinking we can fill voids only God can fill, then wanting people to fill them for us. When they don't, we tend to get let down or upset about that. I am not saying that people can't fill some of these at times, but consistently filling all of them is near impossible. Maybe we are too hard on the people around us, and wanting them to fill these spaces?
I am a problem solver. I tend to move quickly to get something done or solve a problem. This can be great at times. I can solve the issue and then move on. Instead of constantly having to revisit it. Other times, it's not great. I moved too quick or maybe the other person had no intention of solving it... or maybe even they didn't think it was a problem to be solved. So when I see a list like this, my immediate thought is, how can I implement these areas into my relationships? When the truth is, I can never be all these things. I will never measure up, I am not enough and that is ok. But I can go to the one who is enough.
I thought I would go through a few of these, this Valentine's Day, the day we are looking to find love and feel loved to show that we are indeed loved more then we can even imagine.
God Is consistent. From the beginning of time he has stuck to His word and has followed through. His standard has never changed. He is a God of order and not chaos. Think of creation. He created the world in a systematic way, showing us His consistently.
God is safe. God is a safe place to go. In times of trouble and always he is our anchor. When you feel misunderstood, you are not misunderstood by God. When someone hurt your feelings, God is meeting you right there in that. You can go to him. He also can be safe in a way that when you get to know what His word says, it will go well with you if you follow it. This does not mean you will not have hardships because it rains on all of us. But we can have joy and peace. The Bible is not a big set of rules, in fact I think we take a lot of the things the Bible says out of context. The Bible is a complete love story with 40 different authors over 66 books, all conveying His love story to us.
He follows through with His commitments. Have you ever been let down by someone who has said they would do something but didn't follow through? We all have. It's part of being human. Well every single one of God's 8.810 promises in the Bible God follows through. I have a hard time even following through with a few of mine.
He makes a path toward healing and mending relationships. A relationship is a two way street. If you are a believer (accepted that you are a sinner and Jesus died for your sins, that you will never measure up but He does), we are called to pursue relationship with God. What does that look like? Prayer, including Him in your life, getting to know Him by reading, and studying Him in the Bible. But also He pursues you, and He pursed you first. He will never leave you where He found you. Not only that but we as people have a sin problem. He came to this earth to solve our sin problem, by sacrificing Himself to restore relationship with you/us. In the garden everything was perfect, Adam and Eve had a perfect relationship with God. But they broke that relationship, and He met us in our sin to solve that problem to restore a personal relationship with him. How many people do you know that do that?
He respects our boundaries. God lets us choose. He does not force us into relationship with him. He gives us a choice. He knows what is right, and He is God. He could make anything happen, but He loves us enough to let us choose. If you are a parent, you know how hard this is. You know the right choice, but how much more meaningful is it when they choose. Specifically, how meaningful is it when they choose to come into relationship with you rather then you forcing it. I have 3 kids, sometimes I have this idea in my head about how things should look. Family game night or movie night. A lot of times I get push back on that, but what I have noticed when I force it Its not meaningful or a loving/special time. But when my teenage daughter (or any of them, I say teen because you know how teens are) chooses to spend the time with me. That is what is meaningful. Not the forced time.
<Breakfast that was her idea>
He works with us to learn and grow new skills. Guys, there are things even in my business that I think "wow, God really was using this and growing me". When I was a little girl I loved being on a stage, it came pretty naturally to me. I tended to always get the main role in plays and such. I even remember a story of when I was very little maybe 4/5 my grandma loved to tell me, I was at a punky Brewster show and I tried to get on the stage the whole time. Her manager even tried to get me to talk to him about it. But I wouldn't talk to him (I mean stranger danger). As I grew into my teen years, my insecurities had me never wanting to be in the front of a room. I never felt "knowledgeable enough" or "good enough". Even when I first became a Christian at 26 years old, everything was so foreign to me. But God has grown me. I Co-Lead a moms group in which I teach about Jesus 1x a month, I also co-lead a ladies night in which I do the same. I keep finding myself in teaching roles, and not only that but I feel blessed when God uses me in this way now. Not insecure or not good enough. My point is, from childhood He has grown me and is still growing in these skills. He is doing the same for you. Look back in your life. Notice where He has patiently grown you and is still growing you.
We are a priority to Him and He chooses to connect with us. Just a reminder, we are talking about God here. You know he can do anything, but He chooses to spend time with me.. and you...personally. Relationships are what He is all about. He chooses to spend that time with us. Just let that sit with you, He chooses you. You are important to Him. You relationship matters to Him no matter what else is going on in the world.
That was a lot, but I just want to know whether you feel loved this Valentine's Day by your people or you don't, you are loved. You are seen, He wants to be in relationship with you. If this is foreign to you, and God is tugging at your heart to learn more. I know exactly how you feel. Lean into the unknown, ask questions, study and see what He has in store for your relationship with Him. Also feel free to reach out to me, I will do my best to help point you in the right direction for resources to help you get to know Him more.
1 comment
Great insights, Jessica!