Doing what God wants

Many Christians have the wrong idea about God. They feel they need to do what God wants to please him or somehow earn his blessing and favor. It's easy to slip into that mindset. Will God withhold blessing and protection for my family if I've sinned or forgot to ask forgiveness for something? Will I miss the rapture if I'm not walking close to God with all things made right? Is God going to hear my prayers if I'm not doing what God wants me to do? These thought patterns are often buried in our thinking, and we may not realize how they hinder us.

I try to build more awareness in my thoughts around the fact that God, my Father, loves me relentlessly beyond the confines of time without end. Nothing I ever do or say can ever change that. Like any father, but infinitely more, how much does God desire good things for my life. God defines good and blessing according to his kingdom. To the degree I yield my life to pursue kingdom things, I will open my life to the God's kingdom of love, goodness, grace, and blessing as he defines it. Making a self-oriented choice just means I have denied myself access to the creative transformative process of the kingdom that works in my life. When I do, I limit that choice to the extent of my own power, which is nothing. My self-choice also stands in the way of others experiencing God's kingdom through my life.

We always have a choice, but no matter what our heavenly Father is always loving and always waiting for us with his arms wide open.

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