Made for Relationship
Weekly Overview:
So often we view God as an enforcer of religious rules. We see the commands of Scripture as a list of to-dos rather than a path leading to abundant life. But those perceptions aren’t the truth of Scripture. Those beliefs are founded on misguided notions of God’s character. God is after the heart. More than he wants us to do right, he wants us to see him rightly. He wants going to church, reading the Bible, worshipping, serving the poor, and living righteously to come from a heart filled with a true revelation of his loving-kindness. May your heart be wholly God’s this week.
Scripture:
“I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.” Jeremiah 24:7
Devotional:
We were made for relationship with our heavenly Father. We were made to know and be known by him. That one fact is meant to define both our identity and our actions. It’s meant to lay the foundation on which we live, think, feel, and do. And it’s only in living with relationship with God as our chief and central pursuit that our lives reflect his unceasing love and devotion.
For a long time I’ve lived with wrong things at the center of my life. I’ve allowed earthly success, admiration of others, identity in my works, and an image of perfection to be the things that drove me moment by moment. And in those pursuits I only found disappointment, exhaustion, and unfulfilled longings. Even within the context of Christianity there is temptation to be led by that which is worldly, that which will never satisfy.
But in God there is another way. In the love of a grace-filled heavenly Father we can cease striving and start enjoying life founded on relationship with our Creator. Jeremiah 24:7 says, “I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.” Within each of us is a longing to ground ourselves in our identity as the people of God. We are created to live out of the powerful knowledge that our God is real, knowable, loves us unconditionally, and has made his nearness wholly available to us.
You were made to live with the knowledge of God’s love in every season. You were made to taste and see that your heavenly Father is good. You were made to live in constant communion with your Creator, that every moment would be filled with the abundance of his presence. God has life for you. He has love for you. And he won’t rest until the entirety of your heart is his. God’s love is entirely jealous while at the same time wholly sacrificial.
Give God your heart today. Center your life around relationship with him. Root and ground yourself in his unceasing love and faithfulness. May your life be forever changed as you set your eyes on the author and perfecter of your faith (Hebrews 12:2).
Guided Prayer:
1. Meditate on the truth that you were made for relationship with God. Allow Scripture to stir up a desire to center your life around God’s unconditional love.
“I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.” Jeremiah 24:7
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” Jeremiah 31:3
2. What are you valuing above relationship with your heavenly Father? What are you spending all your energy on? What’s truly your greatest desire?
3. Tell God anything that you have valued above relationship with him. Know that his heart is not to condemn, but to set free and give abundant life. He longs to fill you with vision for the way in which you can most enjoy him and the life he’s given you.
Oftentimes we look to the world to tell us what we should value over the Creator of the world. But in reality the world is a place filled with dissatisfaction and unrest. It’s a place where even the rich, successful, and most loved must strive and work constantly to fulfill a longing only God can satisfy. Look to the Creator of heaven and earth for truth. Look to Scripture to decide what to pursue and value. And place your hope in God’s promise of eternal, tangible satisfaction if you will center your life around relationship with him. May your heart find peace and rest in the always open arms of your loving Father.
Extended Reading: John 15
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