Day 14 devotion

[Guest guest]

Good Morning partners! We are in this together and I hope everyone is remembering to pray for one another, that we will be strong and successful in all our goals.

Today's thoughts come from the terrific book, The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.

Developing Your Friendship with God - chpt 12

 

" Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. James 4:8 "

 

" You are as close to God as you choose to be. If you want a deeper, more intimate connection with God you must learn to honestly share your feelings with him, . . . Bitterness is the greatest barrier to friendship with God: Why would I want to be God's friend if he allowed THIS? The antidote, of course, is to realize that God ALWAYS acts in your best interest, even when it is painful and you don't understand it. God uses everything for good in our lives. . . . David passionately desired to know God above all else; he used words in the Psalms like longing, yearning, thirsting, hungering. He craved God. God loves it when we are passionate with him. . . . Pain is the fuel of passion - it energizes us with an intensity to change what we don't normally possess. C.S.Lewis said, 'Pain is God's megaphone.' It is God's way of arousing us from spiritual lethargy. Your problems are not punishment; they are wake- up calls from a loving God. GOD IS NOT MAD AT YOU; HE'S MAD ABOUT YOU. And he will do whatever it takes to bring you back into fellowship wit him. The truth is - you are as close to God as you choose to be. Do you really want it - more than anything? "

How do you know if God's at the center of your life? Rick Warren says, " When God's at the center, you worship. When he's not, you worry. Worry is the warning light that God has been shoved to the sideline. "

May God richly bless you with health and happiness. May He fill you with peace and joy that comes as we realize the intensity of his love for us and the power of his passion to know us intimately.

Hugs,

Nancy