I've mentioned several times in my blogs that the past 2 years of my life has been the craziest time of my life. There has been a lot of heartache, a lot of trials and a lot of blessings. God has completely changed me from the inside out, and has those changes have caused me to fall fully and completely in love with Him in a deeper way than I even knew was possible. But the number one thing that God has done the most over the past 2 years is transform my relationship with Him. And I KNOW that because He has worked so much on me in that area, it has also transformed my relationships with others. And today I wanted to take a moment and just touch base on what that has looked like and why so many may struggle in their life when it comes to relationships.
Recently I asked got engaged to a woman that I KNOW with full certainty God brought into my life. When I look at how we met, and why we met, it is so obvious that without the two of us chasing after God, we would not have met. And through that meeting God has built a friendship and a love that words can't even describe. She truly is a gift from God and I know not to take that gift for granted. She represents God's grace, God's mercy and God's love for me. I know my past, I know the ugliness of my past, and I know how undeserving I am of this love that HE has created. But I also know that my past is not how God sees me. It is forgiven and no longer even a part of who I am. He has rebuilt me to be the man I am now and for that I will be forever grateful. But I have said all of that to say this....the reason that this relationship, and others in my life, are going so well is because my relationship with Him is by far the most important one in my life. See, there was a time when I could not have said that in full honesty. I had put many things before God, including some of the relationships that were in my life. And I led a life that hinged on my happiness being in those relationships. And friend let me tell you, that is a very unhealthy place to be. Your relationship with Him has to be the most important thing in your life. It has to alway come first, and it has to always be the one that has your focus. When the day comes that it isn't, then you need to do some repenting and reorganizing in your life. I say that because when the enemy slides other things into your life that come before God, he also can bring those other things crashing down in an attempt to destroy you. But when your joy, your peace, your rest, your security, your identity, your worth, your value, your ability to love and be loved ALL comes from your relationship with God, then no matter what the enemy "thinks" he is going to do in the natural, it doesn't rock you. And when you establish relationships in your life based on your relationship with God, they too will be much healthier and happier relationships. Why is that? Because as long as I am always trying to please God, and not man, then my flesh won't be what determines how I treat people...how I treat those relationships. (see Galatians 1:10 & Colossians 3:2) My fiancé knows that I am a trustworthy man because my heart is to please God. I know how to love her because I know how to love God. And I know how to treat her because I see her as a gift from Him, and I take that very serious. She knows that God comes first in my life, and since I don't want to do things that hurt him, I naturally won't be doing things that will hurt her. Her heart is protected by my desire to love Him. And the best thing is, I know the same about her. Our relationship is what it is because we are both chasing after Him, not each other. And we will continue to chase after His will and His desires because we have seen the fruit of those choices.
Today, if you have some rough relationships in your life then I challenge you to look inward instead of outward. Ask God to search your heart and see if your relationship with Him truly is first. Ask Him to help you see others the way He sees others, and ask Him to help you do things that ONLY please Him, then see how much it changes the relationships around you. He may ask you to apply filters in some relationships, He may ask you to step away from a few, but He may also bring some news one into your life that will truly bless you. All because you decided to say YOU are first in my life at all costs God!
God, I'm sorry for all the times You were not first. I thank You for Your amazing grace, mercy, forgiveness and love for all the times that I acted in my flesh and did not put You first. Help me to stay on the path that keeps my relationship with you first, and help those who struggle with their relationship with you, and with others. Show them the fruit of doing it Your way. In Jesus name, Amen.
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