Oh How I Need You LORD

I was in my prayer room earlier today, when suddenly my daughter called out for me. Now, you must know, my child is aware that when I step away to my prayer room, I’m going with the intention to meet with the LORD. She also knows not to disturb me unless it is absolutely necessary. And so, here I was laying before the LORD, calling out to Him, when I heard my child call out for me to come to her. And I thought “Why does she always expect me to come to her? She is fully capable of getting up and coming to me?” And I heard in my spirit “That’s how you are towards Me.”

I immediately got teary-eyed as I realized that was exactly how I was treating the LORD in that moment. I was calling out for Him to SHOW UP because I NEEDED HIM. I needed to hear His voice. I needed to see His face. I needed to be in His presence, BUT I wasn’t seeking Him wholeheartedly.

Like my daughter towards me, I was calling out to God with expectation for Him to come to me. How many of you know that My God, My Father Who is in Heaven, He is the Maker of Heaven and earth. He is the Most High God, Creator of all creation, seated in Heaven on His throne. Yet there I was, like a self-centered child calling for Him to come to me while I was making a half-hearted effort to draw closer to Him.

God tells us in His word “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

The word also says “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8a).

Throughout the scriptures it is God who calls us to come to Him. He invites us to approach Him. He invites us into the secret place where He is willing to meet with us face to face. Even prayer is a way in which we draw closer to God, wherein He draws closer to us. Yet, how backwards we can get at times, putting demands on God to come to us as if He were our servant.

No, no, no my friend! God is LORD OF ALL and is to be revered for He is HOLY. The Bible tells us the importance of having reverential fear and awe of God.

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear [and worship] the Lord your God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect], to walk [that is, to live each and every day] in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul [your choices, your thoughts, your whole being],…” (Deuteronomy 10:12)

“You shall fear [and worship] the Lord your God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect]; you shall serve Him and cling to Him [hold tightly to Him, be united with Him], and you shall swear [oaths] by His name. He is your praise and glory; He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which you have seen with your own eyes.” (Deuteronomy 10:20-21)

Even Jesus said ““I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will point out to you whom you should fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority and power to hurl [you] into hell; yes, I say to you, [stand in great awe of God and] fear Him!” (Luke 12:4-5)

Lacking a REVERENTIAL FEAR AND AWE OF GOD can be a dangerous thing. In the culture we live in today, many people thumb their noses at God in defiance and complete disrespect. But that is not the only way people disrespect the LORD. Even Christians are capable of approaching God in a manner with is profane or disrespectful. You may ask “What you talking about sister?” I’m talking about the way we approach God in worship, in prayer, even the way we enter the house of God. We can fail to realize that to approach God in any manner other than reverence is to approach Him with a heart tainted with pride.

Let’s look at the first and last part of that scripture from James 4:

“But He gives us more and more grace [through the power of the Holy Spirit to defy sin and live an obedient life that reflects both our faith and our gratitude for our salvation]. Therefore, it says, “God is opposed to the proud and haughty, but [continually] gives [the gift of] grace to the humble [who turn away from self-righteousness].” So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you. Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; and purify your [unfaithful] hearts, you double-minded [people]…Humble yourselves [with an attitude of repentance and insignificance] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up, He will give you purpose].” (James 4:6-10)

It sounds harsh, but listen up! There are things of our natural flesh, and temptations in this world that are as subtle as the difference between the colors cream and egg shell (trust me, there’s a difference). And we cannot and should not bring these things into our worship of God, unless we are looking to get delivered from them! These things will lead to our destruction if we do not submit to God and receive correction from Him. Even our prayers can become corrupted if we approach God in any way that does not revere Him. Our perspective here on earth can at times become skewed. We can often forget Who it is that created us. Even those who are blessed to be His Children through the blood covenant with Jesus Messiah, have not been exempt from viewing God with the wrong perspective.

Think about this: How can we call God our Father in Heaven, yet resist His teaching and discipline? You can’t! The scriptures tell us:

“You have not yet struggled to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the divine word of encouragement which is addressed to you as sons,

“My son, do not make light of the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart and give up when you are corrected by Him; for the Lord disciplines and corrects those whom He loves, and He punishes every son whom He receives and welcomes [to His heart].”

You must submit to [correction for the purpose of] discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? Now if you are exempt from correction and without discipline, in which all [of God’s children] share, then you are illegitimate children and not sons [at all]. Moreover, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we submitted and respected them [for training us]; shall we not much more willingly submit to the Father of spirits, and live [by learning from His discipline]? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for only a short time as seemed best to them; but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems sad and painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness [right standing with God and a lifestyle and attitude that seeks conformity to God’s will and purpose].” (Hebrews 12:4-11)”

I don’t know about you, but I do not want to considered ILLEGITIMATE by God!

Listen to the wisdom found in the Proverbs:

“The [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of knowledge [its starting point and its essence]; But arrogant fools despise [skillful and godly] wisdom and instruction and self-discipline.” (Proverbs 1:7)

A rebellious child rejects the wisdom and instruction given to them by their parents, not understanding that the parents are only trying to teach them for their ultimate good. Our Father in Heaven is a better parent than ANY and ALL of our parents here on earth! May we come before God our Father with the honor and reverence due Him! And in doing so, He receives us as His children, calls us His children, and blesses us as His children.

So how do we approach God with reverence? Psalm 100 is a great example of how we should draw near to Him:

“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness and delight; Come before His presence with joyful singing. Know and fully recognize with gratitude that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His]. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with a song of thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, bless and praise His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy and lovingkindness are everlasting, His faithfulness [endures] to all generations.”

Maybe you’re like me right now. Maybe you have just been corrected by the LORD. I am sure that many people in this place of correction wonder “What do I do when faced with God’s discipline?”

Easy-peasy…..we REPENT.

Repentance has become a dirty word in many churches today, and has not been found for some time on the lips of many preachers in the pulpit (I’m sad to say). But that too is because we have viewed repentance with the wrong perspective. REPENTANCE IS BEAUTIFUL in the eyes of the LORD. You know why? Because a cry of repentance comes from a contrite heart and broken spirit, the likes of which our God will not turn away (Psalm 51:17; Isaiah 57:15). He is drawn by our confession of how much we truly NEED Him. And let’s face it, WE NEED GOD!!!

I cannot make it through one day without His help. He is my strength. He is my wisdom. He is all that is good in me and I cannot imagine trying to go back to the person I was before He saved me. Though His correction may sting, I receive it gladly because that means I am still His daughter and He is working things out for my good. And as much as I love Him, I never intend to approach Him disrespectfully, but as today proves we all are capable of taking a misstep in our walk with the LORD. I encourage you do not dwell on it, but REPENT and move forward on that straight and narrow path which He has laid out before you. As the prophet Isaiah said “Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left” (Isaiah 30:21). The LORD will never lead you wrong!

If you find yourself right smack dab in the middle of God’s correction, I encourage you to RECEIVE, RECEIVE, RECEIVE from Him. He is only completing the good work He started in you when you received salvation through Jesus Christ, and if you’ll let Him, He will continue to complete and perfect you until Jesus returns to receive us unto Himself for all eternity (Philippians 1:6).

I pray this has helped and encouraged you my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. May God continue to bless and keep you until we “meet” again. Much love 💗