Konnichiwa from Japan!
Fear. Joy. Unrest. Irritation. Hope.
I feel all of these things throughout one day. They are familiar feelings I can operate out of. (Don’t end your sentences in a preposition, I know)
I know I’m supposed to give these to God. How can I though? How do you give something to God?
I believe that I was created so that I’ll glorify God. That’s easy. But what’s in it for God? He went through all the trouble of creation, the flood, hundreds of years of his people leaving Him, sacrificing His son, more hundreds of years of the church misrepresenting His heart, and finally me. Yikes. To me that seems like way too much trouble for praise and glory that we could never give enough of for the rest of eternity. He deserves more, I think.
Maybe we were created with the purpose of glorifying God.
BUT GOD created us so that He could just love us. He just wanted to show us that He is a perfect father and wonderful friend.
Does that make sense? I just woke up so I hope this isn’t gibberish.
So, if these are my two truths that I can base my identity on, then I can be asking myself these questions:
- How can I glorify you today, God?
- How can I allow myself to be loved by you more?
I realize this might be a simple lesson, but it changed my life the other morning in Ishinomaki, Japan.
There has to be communication between a relationship like mine and God’s. Or else, how could I ever earn to glorify Him more or let myself live in His love better?
Back to my feelings.
If my daily focus is, “How does that make me feel?”, then where is the relationship in that? If I ask instead, “How does that make you feel God?”, then I’m opening up the floor for discussion and change. I’m gonna call that the switch.
What are things that take priority in your life?
- Relationships
- Food (can you tell this is my list by now?)
- Self-improvement
- Puppies
- Health (I hold this loosely)
Not bad things. But if I put prayer at the top of my priorities, then I’m inviting God in the other areas of my life. And what do those things become? Literally, just blessings. God gave us friends, running, cake, the enneagram, and golden retrievers for fun. I love that. In John 10:10, Jesus says, “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I have come that you may have life, and have it abundantly.”
I don’t have to be a prisoner to my feelings when I ask God what His heart looks like. If we live like this, then people will see something different and desire that type of love. That’s what life is about.
Japan is amazing and I don’t think I’ll want to leave ever. 🙂
