KP writes:
The Longing to Be Enjoyed
For one of our classes we read The Seven Longings of the Human Heart, by Mike Bickle and Deborah Hiebert. I was particularly struck by the chapter on 'being enjoyed by God' and wanted to share some of it with you. I pray the Lord personally speaks to you about how much He really enjoys you too!
“The Lord jealously desires that we believe He sincerely enjoys us in a personal way”. The key here is that ‘we believe’. He actually created us with the need for that assurance. We must know deep in our hearts that He desires and delights in us for reasons bigger than anything we can secure by any level of dedication or achievement. “The Father has affection for us as His children, and Jesus has passion for us as His Bride”. Our lives have value and importance specifically because God enjoys us. We are defined by the One who pursues us. This is great news to be shouted from every rooftop, to every human being. Contrary to what the world and well meaning parents or professors would tell us, we are NOT the sum total of what we accomplish. We are defined as important by virtue of the One who WANTS us, LOVES us, AND ENJOYS us. Our success is measured solely by the fact that Jesus values and desires us. Now that is a new story to the Western world! Do you see the freedom in that revelation?
We discover a new confidence in God when our hearts grasp the concept that we can be fully known by God and still be enjoyed by Him. As we see in John 15:9, God literally loves us in the same way He loves His own son. John the Apostle clearly understood this and God confirmed it when He had him record in the scriptures on numerous occasions that John (speaking of himself) was the disciple whom Jesus loved. John had personal revelation that he was God’s favorite. We have trouble with this concept of favorite because in our finite love, to love one the most means loving another less. It is again a comparison issue. But God, in his infinite love, is able to love individuals to the utmost. When we understand that we are beloved of God we can begin to walk in intimacy with Him.
Often the question remains, how can God enjoy me? We must renew our minds to the concept that God’s assessments are not based on our human abilities but on the movements of our hearts before and toward Him. I Samuel 16:7 is the firm foundation on which we must stand. ‘The Lord said, “…for the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Bottom line is who are we listening to? What are we believing? Do we value the opinions of others who will forever compare us to a changing degree of worth based on the most recent accomplishments? Do we hold to the harsh reality of imperfection and self imposed condemnation? There is only one opinion that carries any weight. It belongs to the only One who has any rights of ownership to us as created beings. It is God’s thoughts that matter. God is the one who created us and gave us these (seven) deep desires. He has called us unto Himself to fulfill them. He is faithful and true. He cannot lie. He does enjoy us. We are beloved of Him.
Kristian
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