Hosanna Restoration Church

Does God love you? Is God pleased with you? Can God be pleased with you without being totally pleased with the way you live? Are you perfect or being perfected?

Totally, is a word that came to me as I traveled down the highway. Romans 12 tells us to present ourselves to God. James says to humble yourself in the sight of the Lord. Verse 7 tells us to resist the devil, and he will flee from you. In my mind, I want to add totally. Present yourself totally. Submit yourself totally. Resist, totally.

So, Paul said that he had not yet arrived. At the same time, he was confident that he had run a good race and was ready to receive his prize.

As I drove and talked with the Lord, I was very aware that I am loved by God. I am also certain that He is pleased with me. Still, I know that I am far from where I can be, but I am running this race to win.

During a lot of conversation about these things it occurred to me that we can be totally loved, and God can be pleased with us without being totally pleased with everything in our lives. Understand that we do not want things in our lives that do not please God, and we want everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God gone, but we are works in progress.

I know that I cannot be more loved by God, but I am certain that I can be more pleasing to Him! Show me your ways, Lord. Teach me Your thoughts. Search me, Lord. I want to be complete and lacking nothing when it comes to pleasing Him.

Have you sung the chorus that says, “This is my desire. I want to honor you!” It is good and pleasing to the Lord to desire to honor Him. He is our Father in Heaven. When we ask Him into our lives, we please Him! He adopts us. The price He paid was great!

So as His child, you are loved. I have never seen a perfect child, have you? There are times when they thrill our hearts and times when they break our hearts, but never times when we do not love them. There is never a time when we do not want the best for them. This is actually the kind of love that Jesus wants us to have for one another. Do we ever fail to do that? Oh, there is a touché word.

We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. We have all been less than perfect and done things that do not please God. However, He is able to love us and be pleased with us through it all. I am sorry Daddy. I am really sorry! That is humbling yourself in His sight. Receive the lift! Receive the challenge to humble yourself and when you do, expect the lift.

Keep running the race to win! Fight the good fight. Smack down that devil that comes to steal and kill and destroy. Submit totally to God and resist the devil totally. Keep getting up. God is pleased when we do this. Let the understanding of His great love push you to get up and please Him!