But what is really ours? Our bodies aren’t our bodies: they are the temple of God.  Our lives are not our lives: they have been bought with a price. (1 Corinthians 6:19 – 20)  God had a plan for your life before you were even born. (Jeremiah 1:5) Just like a rented apartment, these things are ours to use for a time, but someday we will have to answer to the owner.

Though we may behave like spoiled children, snatching control of what’s ours from the hands of a loving parent, God does not respond in kind. Our all knowing and yet all loving Heavenly Father does not force us to submit to His plans for our life. But by surrendering to His plans, God offers us an eternity in paradise, in His presence, and freedom from the punishment that we deserve. And not only does He promise us Heaven after this life, He promises that when we love Him and commit “our” lives to Him, He will give us the desires of our hearts. (Psalms 37:4-5) What a loving God! He rejoices in our obedience. He loves us. We are his children.

It reminds me of a scene from the musical ‘Fiddler on the Roof. Tevye, the main character is introducing his five daughters to a guest.  He embraces one after another proclaiming, “This one’s mine! And this one’s mine!” Just like Tevye, or any other caring parent, God loves his children!  When we surrender our will to His, to what is best for us, we reap the benefits.  God loves to give good gifts to His children. He wants to embrace us and exclaim, “This one’s mine!”

There are a few points I’d like to address, the first being: why would you listen to the lies that our minds and our adversary feed to us? Lies like “I’m not usable” or “I’m not smart enough” start this train of thought. Those lies are made to stop us and cheat us out of the ministry that God has planned for us there. We have to get beyond ourselves and in a way “just do it”. God has made us for such a time as this and equipped us to be able to speak into situations even without realizing it. You can be effective and make a difference in someone else’s life, and even without consciously doing it for your benefit you are benefiting yourself. You are becoming more involved and making your life available as a way for God to flow through you — which brings me to my second point: How is God going to flow through you and to speak to others if you never open your mouth?

For a long time I thought I had to be directly inspired and have every word planned out, all the while feeling this tingling sensation creep up and down my spine to say something anointed and effective. I really like how one of my friends put it; he said that “we start with a simple truth to get going and then God can anoint us and direct us from there.” We have to open our mouths in order for God to speak through us. He won’t force us to open our mouths, so we must put forth that effort. By not following this simple advice, I’ve cheated myself out of many times where I would be able to say “a word fitly spoken” (Proverbs 25:11) which could have helped someone I knew through a hard time, or even spoken truth about a topic or a standard, revealing to others and solidifying in me the convictions that I hold onto. You see, when we speak and let God flow through us it is not only beneficial to the person that we speak to, but also to ourselves as it makes us more sure of what we believe on that topic.

So when God gives you something to speak, speak it. It’s a simple and effective truth. As I continue to learn to allow God to speak through me, I pray you will do the same.

During Jacob’s flight he stopped to camp overnight, and while he slept God blessed him with a dream, showing him the multitude of blessings He was willing to give. On waking Jacob built an altar and made a vow: “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then shall the Lord be my God.”

Arriving at the house of Laban, a relative of his mother’s, Jacob fell in love with Rachel, one of Laban’s daughters. He was willing to work however long he must to marry her. But now Jacob was the one being deceived, as Laban tricked him into marrying his other daughter, Leah, after having worked seven years for Rachel. Yet his love was so great he agreed to work yet another seven years so he could marry the woman his heart was with. After Rachel and Jacob were married, God relentlessly protected and blessed Jacob with a multitude of gifts, including twelve sons.

After staying in Laban’s house for twenty years with Leah and Rachel, Jacob was ready to return home and reunite with his brother. Laban begged him to stay, for his land and cattle had proliferated while Jacob had taken care of them. God had been blessing Laban for the sake of protecting Jacob the whole time!

Jacob feared that Esau still had anger lingering in his heart, especially when his servant reported that Esau was coming to see him along with four hundred men. Though God promised to deliver him from his brother’s ferocity, Jacob divided his family into groups so they wouldn’t all be killed. He needn’t have done so: “Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him; and they wept” (Genesis 33:3)

As I read this story again, I was confused about why God wanted Jacob as a servant. Why would He want a lying, cheating man to serve and represent His holiness? Then I realized that Jacob listened and did everything that God asked him. It doesn’t matter who you are; what that matters is whether you’re willing to listen and then act. Many of us are like the beginning Jacob, only focusing on our own needs. Remember that he begins to hear God’s voice as the story continues, and by following His guidance Jacob’s life is filled with joy.

And just like Jacob, many times we don’t think we deserve the blessings that God gives. He wants to develop us just like he developed Jacob. God turned him from selfishness to servanthood. He wants to help, love, and comfort you. He’s ready and waiting to jump into your life! It starts with your next choice and whether or not you’re going to acknowledge the Almighty in your decision, no matter how small. Don’t settle for the life of a deceiver — let God change you into an Israel.

He taught about the love that God has for us, and how John had this revelation. That is why the apostle John was called “John the Beloved”. John, unlike any of the other disciples, saw Jesus all the way to the cross and saw his friend — his master, his God — die for him. It was a gruesome death unfit for any human, let alone the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Through the agony and suffering he watched his savior endure, John learned how much Jesus loved him. He would be forever changed by the knowledge that Jesus loved him enough to endure it all for him, to pay the ultimate price, to be the sacrifice to end all others. Jesus bled and died to relinquish the hold that sin had upon our lives: He gave His all that I might be free!

As I stand back and consider the impact that this unprecedented act has upon my life, it reminds me how insignificant my petty arguments are with my brothers and sisters. If Jesus could have held every sin against me and yet chose to forgive, how much more should I forgive my brothers? As it says in John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Then Jesus said in Matt 22:39, “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”  From these scriptures we see that we cannot love God if we do not love our neighbor — but we cannot love our neighbor if we don’t love ourselves.

Bro. Urshan said it this way: “We cannot love God if we don’t love others, and we cannot love others if we don’t love ourself”, so we must love ourselves, but not with a selfish love. We must not allow what we see in ourselves, our faults, failures and shortcomings to mitigate what God wants to do through us.

We can find encouragement in the fact that Jesus loves us despite our failures, and He knows us better than we know ourselves anyway. Personally, I am going to let God heal me of the things which prevent me from loving myself, and learn how to love myself unselfishly in the process that He has for me. I challenge you to do the same! Remember, He loves you!

He loves you. He loves you!

Apply this idea to your life. What changes when you know and are convinced that God loves you?