A heart that wants you first

Jun 11

Life has a way of changing our perspective, and I am loving the perspective that He has given me lately. I started reading a new book yesterday,

Abba's Child

, and I will tell everyone right now -

it is a must read.

The first chapter is titled,

Come Out of Hiding.

Think on this:

"The spiritual life begins with the acceptance of our wounded self... the person who encounters God with naked trust."

If ever I have felt naked and vulnerable, it is now. If ever I have needed to trust in God with every part of my being, it is now.

I have said it over and over to anyone that will listen, but God has given me such a peace in the midst of the storm. It's unexplainable really, but I can proclaim that when you truly come to the end of yourself,

that's where you'll meet God.

In all the ugly, in the brokenness, in the despair - "

this brokenness is what needs to be accepted. Unfortunately, this is what we tend to reject."

We tend to walk around with a mask. We show people only what we want to be seen, hiding from the real and the raw. We do not want people to see our brokenness. We may have different reasons for this - fear of what others will think, self-hatred of the deepest darkest parts of us, fear of rejection, the list goes on. If people were to see the real us, would they still love us? And what about God? How could God possibly love us? And

that

, is what I think is most difficult for us to truly accept and believe -

the heart in which God sees us.

“But we cannot assume that He feels about us the way we feel about ourselves - unless we love ourselves

compassionately, intensely, and freely

. In human form Jesus revealed to us what God is like. He exposed our projections for the idolatry they are and gave us the way to become free of them. It takes a profound conversion to accept that God is relentlessly tender and compassionate toward us just as we are - not in spite of our faults and sins,

but with them

. Though God does not condone or sanction evil, He does not withhold His love because there is evil in us. Because of how we feel about ourselves, it’s sometimes difficult to believe this. We cannot accept love from another human being when we do not loves ourselves, much less accept that God could possibly love us.”

God wants all of us. The broken, the ugly, the mess. "

God is the father who ran to His prodigal son when he came limping home."

How beautiful. Not only that, He threw him a banquet, celebrating His return. If only we could truly grasp the depths of His love, I believe our lives would look so different. We wouldn't live in this false identity, so far from the person He created us to be.

We hide what we know or feel ourselves to be (which we assume to be unacceptable and unloveable) behind some kind of appearance which we hope will be more pleasing. We hide behind pretty faces which we put on for the benefit of our public. And in time we may even come to forget that we are hiding, and think that our assumed pretty face is what we really look like."

We do not have to hide - not from ourselves, not from other people, not from God. All we have to do is run into His loving arms. Paul says, "

The things which are done in secret are things that people are ashamed even to speak of; but anything exposed by the light will be illuminated and

anything illuminated turns into light.

God loves us, He forgives us, He turns our darkness into light. The darkness is oh so scary, but the light is oh so beautiful. The light is

freeing

, my friends. His grace, His tender mercies, His lovingkindness - it is too much to put into words. I love the artwork on the front of the book, which is how I

know

and

believe

God sees us. He loves us compassionately, intensely, and freely. If we could truly come to acceptance of that truth, I firmly believe it would change our entire lives. I am thankful for a renewed perspective. For hope. For truth. For His embrace. I pray that wherever you are on your journey, that He brings you a new perspective and that you see yourself as He sees you.

I have this chorus in my head today, so I will leave it here and pray it encourages you wherever you may be. I feel like He is changing my whole mindset and my desire is to have a heart of thanks and of praise. I desire to have a heart that wants Him first. You can hear the whole song

here

I enter the gates with nothing but thanks

I want to magnify Your worth

I want to bring You more than words

I enter the gates, come reckless with praise

I'll bring a heart that wants You first

All for Your glory