“Draw near…” There is nothing to fear. Recall, the Creator of the Universe is the One who loves you. “Draw near…” Consider, the judgments of God are your Alibi, your Comrade. The Witness of God is your defense. While others were off fulfilling their own desires, you were amidst the judgments of God. “Draw near…” Believe, the Creator of Your Heart is for you. He has your back. He is watching and listening. He is letting you in on the secrets of Your Heart. He is warning you ahead of time. So… “Draw near to God….” James 4:8.
You can rest assured that, although His judgments may come in various forms, both powerful and peaceful, they are always good for you. There is nothing to fear. He is your Comrade. Although He may oppose your system of belief and your style of relating, His opposition is always good for you.
I would probably like God better if He always tickled my fancy and agreed with my choices. I would probably bat my eyes and find Him sweet. But I would never learn to love. No, my Life is in dire need of a true friend and lover. Someone I can go to safely and yet always count on hearing the truth. My friend and lover ought to know me well enough to be both sympathetic and honest. To offer both empathy and clarity. This is the friend and lover that I need in my God. One who will make a right judgment of my heart. One who will fight with me fairly for my good. One who will give me an honest evaluation of reality… .with mercy.
I can trust the Creator of my Heart. The Ancient One who loves me.
“Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon the earth,” Psalm 67:4. “The Lord judges the people; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me,” Psalm 7:8. The judgments of the Creator are good news for the people of God. He will judge your heart fairly, with mercy, and according to your knowledge of His Son.
So… “Draw near…”
I find it that everytime I work at the prayer line that this where God "judges" me. He would connect me to the right caller who is going through something similar to me, or have in the past and their attitude about it would convict me to change my attitude toward my situation, or in other cases encourage me that I'm handling it with a mature attitude. Nonetheless, God can use anything to get our attention so that we can become more refined in the fire, or encouraged as we keep growing. In the end, if we are open to listen to the words of the Holy Spirit, we will take His discipline humbly and become greater people and help advance His kingdom.
ReplyDeleteI usually receive His judgment the same way.. .by observing someone else's attitude or perspective. Then I see myself in it and OUCH! One time, when someone had mistreated me, I realized that I was mistreating Kory in the same manner and had to apologize big time!
ReplyDeleteYes, true. I'm thankful that God loves us so much that just as an earthly father would, He corrects us and we grow. I'm so thankful for the Lord!
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