POINT TO PONDER:
God smiles when I trust him.
VERSE TO REMEMBER:
"The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love." [Psalm 147:11]
RICK WARREN'S THOUGHTS:
**God smiles when we LOVE him supremely**
Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment." [Matt 22:37-38]
God deeply loves you and desires your love in return. He longs for you to know him and spend time with him. This is why learning to love God and be loved by him should be the greatest objective of your life.
**God smiles when we TRUST him completely**
"By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith." [Heb 11:7]
Trusting God is an act of worship.
**God smiles when we obey him WHOLEHEARTEDLY**
Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commands." [John 14:15]
God doesn't owe you an explanation or reason for everything he asks you to do. Understanding can wait, but obedience can't. Instant obedience will teach you more about God than a lifetime of Bible discussions. In fact, you will never understand some commands until you obey them first. Obedience unlocks understanding.
**God smiles when we praise and thank him CONTINUALLY**
**God smiles when we USE our abilities**
When you live in the light of eternity, your focus changes from "How much pleasure am I getting out of life?" to "How much pleasure is God getting out of my life?"
D-MONK'S THOUGHTS:
According to Warren, God smiles when we love him, when we trust him, when we obey him, when we thank him, and when we use the abilities he has given us.
For me, the greatest difficulties are presented by LOVING God and OBEYING God.
What does it mean to love God? One part of this seems to be understanding and acknowledging WHO God is. God is the Creator and giver of life. God is the one who the world revolves around--not me. My life is a GIFT from God an I will enjoy it more when I acknowledge this truth.
How about trusting and obeying God? This is extremely difficult for one as prideful as myself. The addict assumes that he has superior intellect and wants to subject all commands to that intellect to appraise whether the commands are reasonable.
But the truth is that I will never understand God's commands until I try to obey them. God's commands are based on relationship--not on a hollow construct of intellectual principles. To understand the commands, I must willingly enter into relationship with God.
D-Monk has a long, long way to go down the road of obedience, but he is ready to try. I am ready to surrender to relationship with God.
I believe, God, help me in my unbelief!
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