Is there really any way to be confident about our relationship with God? Is there any amount of effort or striving that will satisfy the requirements either realized or unrealized that God has designed? Is there any security that can be found that will remove all of this doubt? So many questions, and yet, the answer is a resounding “yes”. John the apostle has been sharing with us about the love God has for us, and the fellowship He desires to have with us. John has given us instruction about loving God and loving others, and lately his topic has been the condition of our hearts. He wrote in yesterday's study, “If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart”. Today he adds more to this idea in First John chapter three and verse twenty-one where he wrote:
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, [then] have we confidence toward God.
What are our hearts telling us? Do we have doubts about our relationship with God? Do we wonder if God really likes us, wants us, or even desires to have anything to do with us? Have we gone astray from Him in some manner, and now we feel like God has abandoned us? Notice that John addresses his readers as “beloved”. Remember, we are loved. First and foremost, we are loved, not only by John the apostle but by God Himself. It is God who is greater than our heart's message when our hearts condemn us. It is God who paid the price for us to have fellowship with Him. It is God who gave His only begotten Son to die for our sins, and remember, we only have to look to the cross and Jesus' sacrifice there for proof. In other words, the weight of our relationship with God is upon Him, not us. He keeps us together. He's the strong one, and when our hearts are wondering, maybe doubting, and even making wrongful judgments about whether God loves us, God is able to overcome that doubt.
John wants us to know today, to have confidence today, towards God. When we are in fellowship with God, and He is the stronger one in our relationship, we can rely upon the fact that God will keep us together. Our part is to respond to His loving favor, enjoy His loving kindness, and bask in His loving grace. This gives no cause for licentious or wild living, but rather should draw us closer and closer to Him.
Being sure of our relationship with God is very important to our advancement in usefulness for God in this world. If we are constantly worried about our status with God, we will never advance beyond that point in our fellowship with Him, but when we have confidence toward God, our lives are in His hands to use as He deems best for others to know the fellowship with God that we so enjoy.
Next time we shall take a further look into the advantages of having confidence in our relationship with God, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow...there is more...
Look for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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