God isn’t going to ask everyone to die for Him. Sometimes He wants to know are you willing to live for Him?
Living for God means living a changed life. Your life is all about God as well as your lifestyle. And sometimes we think that being sorry is enough. We think that telling God we messed up should suffice and we can move forward. But, that doesn’t work when people do it to us, so why do we think it should work when we do it to God?
As sorry as I think I am, I still need to be sorry enough to actually change.
We get tired of people apologizing for the same stuff over and over so why would we not think that God wouldn’t be annoyed with it? That’s why God’s love and patience is so amazing. He knows how many more times we’re actually going to commit that sin, and oftentimes He still gives us another chance.
And we have to understand that God isn’t hitting us with a bunch of rules or trying to suck the fun out of life. He’s simply saying, “Hey, I know how this looks and feels right now, but I also know how this ends. I’m trying to save you from that guilt and blame and shame.”
God would much rather us experience the blessings of obedience than the guilt of disobedience.
When I really hurt, is when I realize I hurt God’s feelings. It’s not enough to hurt my own, but it’s another thing to hurt God. And when I’ve been at that point, I’m just thankful that God pulled me back into his arms of comfort. That even though I hurt Him, He still chose to forgive me.
And when I hurt like that for hurting my God, that’s when I actually change. That’s when I actually say, “I am not doing this anymore. I cannot do this to you God.” And as lovingly as I need it, or as sternly as I need it, He says, “Okay. Now we’re getting somewhere. Now I’m ready to do some more work with you, because your spirit is all about me now. Now, you’re back on track.”
Psalm 51:17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
I think every now and then we should all pray and thank God that rejection is not a trait of His.