When we love others, we know we belong to the truth, and we feel at ease in the presence of God. But even if we don't feel at ease, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if we feel at ease in the presence of God, we will have the courage to come near him. He will give us whatever we ask, because we obey him and do what pleases him. God wants us to have faith in his Son Jesus Christ and to love each other. This is also what Jesus taught us to do. If we obey God's commandments, we will stay one in our hearts with him, and he will stay one with us. The Spirit he has given us is proof that we are one with him.
1 John 3:19-24
Do you feel at ease in the presence of God? Do you have the courage to come near Him? The way to feel comfortable and be close to God at the same time is to love others, even your enemies.
Satan's purpose for the enemies in your life is to encourage you to hate them and then not be able to be comfortable in being near to God. God's purpose for your enemies is to provide you someone to love just like Jesus loved those who put Him on the Cross!
If you are nervous about being close to God then look for someone you do not love.
“Alright, I know who it is that I do not love, so now what do I do about it? After what they did to me how can I love instead of hate?"
Beginning to love someone is a decision you make, not a feeling you have. First of all decide that you will love instead of hate and then look for some way to do something that you could not do if you were still living in hate. For me that is usually to pray for that person that the blessing of the Lord would come to them and turn their heart toward Jesus.
The way to test your new love for someone that you did not love is to approach God and see how close you can be and still be comfortable. People who love their enemies will be at ease in the presence of God because loving enemies is what God does all the time!
No comments:
Post a Comment