Posted by rick in Blog | 4 Comments
Can we bring God pleasure, really?
Recently in my small group, we started looking at the book of Ephesians. I was reminded of a verse that I had forgotten about: Ephesians 1:5 (NLT). “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.”
This last phrase just blew me away as I considered that I gave God pleasure! That I – Rick “Sinner” Moore – brought a holy God pleasure. How could this be? How could a person like me who messes up so much bring pleasure to God? Then as I re-read the passage, I realized that it brought God pleasure to adopt me into HIS Family – and HE did this in advance. He chose me in advance knowing that I would make all those choices and do all those actions that are so against who He is – but yet adopting me brought HIM pleasure!
I can’t tell you how many times I get down on myself because I feel like I’m such a disappointment to Him. “What a loser!” I think to myself. Then I hear the Holy Spirit say, “You aren’t a loser, you bring God pleasure.”
So, the next time you feel like you are such a disappointment, remember what God says. He loved you and decided ahead of time that you would bring Him pleasure – even though He knew full well some of the decisions you would make. WOW – what a GOD!
How does it make you feel to realized that you bring God pleasure?
Rick, Thank you for this blog post. This is an area that I struggle with all the time. I hear the voices “You don’t measure up.” “You are not good enough.” “You are a loser” “I’m so stupid.” My favorite song right now is “Voice of Truth” which deals with this issue. I will now also use this verse and meditate on how much God loves me. Thank you.
Thanks Rick for that encouraging reminder. I’ve passed to concept along to another group I belong to.
Everytime I messed up, which is daily…no hourly, I remember that God create Michelle exactly the way He decided I should be. That means that my strong-will is not a bad thing when it is used to glorify God and to stand up for what is right. That means that my outspoken behavior is not a bad thing when I hear an offense against my God and stand up on behalf of my Savior. That means that my desire to set wrong ideas right is not a bad thing when I use the Word of God as a defense against evil.
I used to wonder why I was created as a strong-willed woman in a century where there has been so much effort to keep women from fully expressing their heartfelt words of wisdom. But knowing that this is where God wants me to be means knowing that God wants to use me just the way I am on behalf of His family.
Thanks for this, Rick. It has made me stop and think….Thank You, and God Bless.