Blessings On Purpose - Part 1
“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the LORD is your life, and He will give you many years in the land He swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
Deuteronomy 30:19, 20 (NIV)
Did you know that we make 35,000 decisions every day, according to recent research? The number of choices you make, both big and small, can feel overwhelming. What’s more, the trajectory of your life is determined by the choices you make daily. That’s why God doesn't want you to make decisions alone. He has a plan for your life and wants the very best for you and your family. His Word shows us how to make divine decisions in the critical moments of life. A great example of that is found in Deuteronomy 30. Moses calls on the nation of Israel with a clear choice of life or death. He says, “… I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses….” Deuteronomy 30:19 (NIV).
Have you ever considered that your decisions determine your destiny? In Deuteronomy, Moses gives us four wise choices to make that will offer life and blessing instead of death and curses. For the rest of this week, let’s examine each one so we may experience blessings on purpose. Here’s the first choice to make:
1. Make the choice to let God love you when you feel unlovable.
No matter how unlovable you feel or how badly you have behaved, the Bible teaches us that God loves you! His love is not based on our performance like human love. His love is unconditional! His love is relentless! His love pursues you and me and will never let us go! He doesn’t love you more when you are good nor love you less when you are bad. There’s nothing good we could do to make Him love us more and nothing bad we could do to make Him love us less! Consider that for a moment and relax – just let God love you! To the wayward nation of Israel, God said, “No matter how far away you end up, God, your God will get you out of there and bring you back….” Deuteronomy 30:4 (MSG) In the New Testament, the Bible says that God is faithful even when we are faithless! Wow!
Have you drifted away from God? Are you feeling unlovable? Unworthy of His love? The devil will tell you that you can’t come back. You’ve gone too far! You aren’t good enough. God can’t use you again. Lies! God said, “No matter how far away you end up, God, your God will get you out of there and bring you back!” How does He do it? How do we make the choice to let God love us when we feel so unlovable? There are two ways we let God love us:
Forgiveness – I love the way the Living Bible paraphrases 1 John 1:9. It says,
“But if we confess our sins to Him, He can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. [And it is perfectly proper for God to do this for us because Christ died to wash away our sins.]” We let God love us when we admit our failures and sins and ask His forgiveness. Sin is serious, and it makes us feel guilty and unlovable and separates us from God. Jesus died on the cross for our sins to demonstrate God’s love for us so that we could be forgiven!Focus – You choose to let God love you when you focus on what His Word says instead of what the world says. The world says you’re not worth it. No one would love you. God says I love you so much you’re worth dying for!
Forgiveness and Focus are what I call “spiritual breathing.” When you confess your sins, you exhale the guilt and pain to God, and then, when you focus on what God has done for you in Christ, you inhale His forgiveness and love!
Do you ever just let God love you? Practice spiritual breathing right now. Exhale the negative hurt and pain you feel, and inhale the truth of God’s Word – YOU ARE LOVED!
“GOD (says), ‘I've never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love!’” Jeremiah 31:3 (MSG)
This is the first and most important choice you can make to experience God’s blessing. Jesus makes that choice possible. When you look to the cross, you experience God’s love and are assured of His presence and direction as you learn to turn from your sin and follow Him. If you haven’t made that choice, make it now. Receive His grace and experience God’s love!
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.