Journey Essentials: His Plan

Have you ever started on a journey, road trip or adventure and at some point during your time you realized you forgot something? Or maybe you realized you weren't prepared enough for the long haul? That happened to me on a trip up the Boundary Waters of northern MN back in 1995. I thought I could do the entire trip on eating ramen noodles and beef sticks. Needless to say, by the last night of our 4 day trip I was hungry and sick of my menu choices. It caused me to resort to some drastic action, but that is for another time or listen to the message online. But the point is, I didn't have a journey essential. It may sound foolish, it may sound naive, but the truth is I thought I could get by with a limited menu.

I believe the same is true in our spiritual journey. I believe that we think we can get by with certain things or survive without certain things and we then at some point gravely wish we made a better decision. Maybe that is where you are at right now. Maybe you are walking on your journey and your stuck? Maybe you are at a crossroads and just don't know where to turn? Maybe you have created a belief of how the journey should be, and its not that. I don't know where you are at on your journey, but I do know there are certain essentials we just need to have.

The journey essential I want you to have with you, like food, is this: know that God's plan for you is to experience the depth of his love. Some of you are like "dah" I know that. Just like I know you should pack more than just ramen and beef sticks. But I would argue we don't live that way everyday. I don't believe we live as though God loves us deeply, because we allow things to get in the way. Then we determine that God must not love me today because of the circumstances we face.

We decide that based upon a certain criteria God loves us or doesn't love us. And we miss the truth that at the core of who God is, HE IS LOVE (1 John 4:8 and 16). I know all of us do this, but if we pray or read the bible, we believe God loves us. But if we curse or lie to save our a*# he doesn't love us. If we get a raise God must love us, but if we get sick or loose a loved one he doesn't love us. If we help someone in need he loves us, but if we are bitter with our children or spouse, he doesn't love us. It is as if God's love is like our first grade school crush, and we pick up a flower and pick the pedals wondering each and every day; he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me. It must be a good day.

Folks, our journey doesn't need the added attraction of a roller coaster, up and down with God's love. The Journey Essential you need to have with you each and every day is God loves you period. Not because of anything we do or don't do, not because of anything we say or don't say. Not because of circumstances or failures. He loves you because at the core of who he is, he is love.

Check out this verse:

1 John 4:16, “we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.”

This is the verse I want you to carry with you this week and the steps ahead on your journey. Print it, write it down, e-mail me and I will send you a laminated copy I have here. Hold this truth, this journey essential close to your heart. This will guide you each and every step and will give you freedom to stop striving to make God's love a reality in your life.

This week, rest in this verse and rest in his love.

Experiencing God- God's Motivation

I would like to lead with a quote from Erwin McManus, in his book Soul Cravings:

I think many of us have rightly given up on God at times in our relationship. We’ve been told that God is a reluctant lover and that his standards must be met before there can be any talk of love. This is lunacy. Love exists because God is love. Our souls will never find satisfaction until our hearts have found this love that we so desperately yearn for. God is not passive, for love is never passive, but always passionate and passion always leads to action.

God's motivation for us is LOVE, but we have gotten in the way of that love. We have convinced our selves that we are not worthy of His love, that we are too screwed up to receive any love, much less a love from the God of the universe. We are more driven to play a hopeless romantic version of love with a bouquet of flowers. With each pedal we pick, we simply ponder, "He loves me, He love me not, He loves me, He loves me not." And depending on how we finish the flower, will determine the love God has for us. For instance, “he loves me (because I said a kind word to my co-worker), he loves me not (because I cut off a guy and "pointed" at him in traffic), he loves me (I made it to church), he loves me not (I didn’t put anything in the offering plate), he loves (I called my mom on her birthday), he loves me not (I forgot my wife's anniversary).”

Romans 5:8 says it perfectly, “God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We don't have to get our act together for God to love us. God loves me personally, passionately, and longs for me to live out of that love.

My prayer for you, is that next time you pick up a flower and begin to wonder does God love me, the scenario would look like this: He loves me, He loves me, He loves me, He loves me . . . . . . . . . He loves ME.

God longs to be in a relationship with you because he loves you, are you willing to love him back?