All God wants is a Relationship.

Our personal relationships are not given to us by God solely for our own fulfillment, but to mirror God's love towards us.

Everytime in the Bible, it drew parallels between the love of God towards us and the love of a father- child, mother - child, bride - bridegroom, and God used these relationships as an imagery to help us fully understand His love for us!
If you have ever experienced a love that is unconditional, patient, ever giving, it's not just for you to want it and enjoy it, but to understand that, that is the way God is commending his love to you!
The love you see in the hard working single mother that would do anything to put her kids through life with a soft landing, a father, frustrated by his child's behavior but still is a provider anyway, a significant other that would support the other financially without asking for anything in return.
You See, what these love filled relationships God has blessed us with do is give us an insight; just a tip of the iceberg on how much God's love is for us! And it should make you appreciate His love for you more, it should make it more real, practical, relatable. Let me summarize God for you, God is love! That's the summary of the mystery of God, He can't exist outside himself, love!
And love keeps on loving, keeps on giving!
On the flip side, if you have experience a love that is unreciprocated, disrespectful, controlling, passive, holding back; that too gives you an insight on the heart of God and how he feels when we drag him through our mess.
when we say we love Him with our lips but our lives tell different stories. You know grace is available and love keeps on giving but understand the heart of love; where love exists, there is  vulnerability and where vulnerability exists there's the chance of getting hurt.
And many people don't understand it this way, that they hurt God's feelings. Oh no you say? God does not have feelings? When you say I can do whatever I want with my life, you've just discounted God's plans for your life and the awesome purpose He has for you.
No God won't punish you for doing whatever you like, how you feel like, he won't punish you for your compromise or for not spending time with him, or the brethren or for persisting in that addiction and immoral lifestyle but He feels, the Holy Spirit can be grieved and maybe you should have expected him to scream from heaven to stop you, maybe you didn't feel anything when you did what he was convicting you not to. No he won't contend with you, he won't make you miserable, he'll encourage you and build you up to make better decisions and maybe that's why we keep passing up his convictions and keep hurting him with our lifestyle.
but what is love without choice?
And maybe the reason you are still struggling with sin is because you've not felt the disappointment of a parent that have given their all into a child that is turning out rebellious, you've not experienced the hurt of a passive lover that claims they love you but are emotionally closed out, you haven't experienced the hurt of a child who's daddy left and was never there. And maybe if you have been in these situations you can understand how we drag God through every rotten thing, after he's invested his whole love, given us his son, his spirit, and daily commending his love towards us.
We aren't concerned about what his word has to say on certain issues like morality, we trust in our own understanding, we don't want to spend time meditating, talking to him in prayer, we're  basically not reciprocating his live.
But love keeps on giving, keeps on loving, maybe one day it would woo us completely to its side.
But the reason many Christians struggle with stuff is that they don't have a relationship with God! And I know you want to say, no, I'm born again! But relationship has to be built. You need to learn your partner's rhythm, understand their heart, understand what slights them, what gasses them up. If you truly had a good relationship with God, you'd be more concerned about glorifying Him in any situation than anything, you'll be constrained by pure love, not judgement, not fear of hell fire but the love for the one who has given his all for you and will never stop chasing you!! Until you deep his love for you, you'll never be free to serve him!
Because at the apex of God, is not miracles, healing, signs and wonders, mighty revivals raising the dead, speaking in tongues and frothing at the mouth. At the apex of revival is people having a thriving day to day, normal relationship with God, not necessarily anything special. That's what God has been always after from the beginning; in the garden and till now : he wants to be your friend, your lover, your father, your king!
Selah

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Finding Healing and a Miracle in the midst of Grief. The Jesus and Lazarus story.

Jesus had both spiritual and emotional ties to Lazarus. And now Lazarus dies.

From John 11:1 to 32 Jesus is talking smart with so much confidence, and spiritual knowledge and gusto in the midst of the situation. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that He was going to handle the situation,  death? He got this!

But v 33 it seems like Jesus ‘breaks’ down. Jesus is troubled in his spirit. He groans and finally in 35, He weeps, freely. Jesus was troubled (v.33) Because no matter how spiritual you are, or how much you know, nothing can prepare you for being in a situation, than actually being in the situation. Then you actually feel, pain, grief, hurt like every other person. And you cannot just understand or wish the feeling away. Even Jesus with all the answers felt too. And sometimes you get to feel life.

But let us back off a little and view these verses more critically that alluded to his grief; 

v.33 He groaned in the spirit and was troubled

v.35 Jesus wept

v.38 Jesus again groaning in himself, cometh to the tomb…

If you look at it carefully, Jesus was not just crying or mourning!

First, he started by groaning in the spirit

Romans 8:26

In the same way, the Spirit helps in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

So Jesus was not just crying He was groaning in the spirit like Romans 8:26 explains. Jesus was emotionally distressed since He was still living in the flesh; the flesh gets weak in some circumstances, you do not even know what to pray; He was in an emotional state of being unable to enunciate words, so he began to groan in the Spirit.

Then v.35. Jesus wept. You can notice the chronology of events and for the fact that these two events were separated, means that they are not the same. Groaning in the spirit is not the same thing as crying or weeping and the simple difference is that while one was a spiritual activity, the other corresponding activity was physical. Very physical.

So we can see that groaning/praying in the spirit has a direct and dual relationship with our emotions. Because Jesus ended up expressing his physical emotion; weeping after He had groaned in the spirit. And I believe this was not weeping of regret or pain but the type that heals the soul.

• Praying and worshiping in the spirit directly affects our emotions.

Jude 20 …praying in the Holy Spirit,

Jude 21 keep yourself in the love of God

There is a special manifested form of the love of God shed abroad in our hearts when we pray, worship, and groan in the spirit.

So the consequence of what Jesus was doing was first, praying the perfect will of God for the situation, then he was encouraging his heart and emotions, and allowing the spirit comfort him in the present tragedy through groaning/praying in the spirit.

Then again, praying in the spirit is a weapon part of the full armour of the spirit to fight the enemy.

Ephesians 6:18: with all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit…

So you can see that Jesus was not just grieving and weeping without any reason, or just being overly emotional, He was strengthening his emotions and praying the perfect will of God for that situation! and setting up the atmosphere for a miracle! 

Then v. 41 Jesus starts vocalizing his words audibly in prayer

v.43 after praying Jesus commands the outcome he wants from the situation; Lazarus

come forth! 

So after you've groaned in the spirit, prayed in tongues, then probably poured out the hurt through crying and weeping; pray in English or in your understandable dialect what you want God to do. 

Then decree and declare in faith exactly what you want as the outcome for that situation; if it is peace, speak peace to your heart,speak  healing, speak miracles into being by faith! 

God is faithful, you will see healing and a miracle in your situation!

So I hope this is able to help you if you are dealing with grief, sadness, loss, depression, suicidal thoughts. You are not alone. Jesus Christ the captain of our faith was like us in every way. He felt like we felt and this is how he dealt with the situation:

·       He groaned/prayed in the spirit

·       He prayed 

·       He commanded the outcome he wanted from the situation; Lazarus come forth!

And God is able to both bless your emotions and actually change the situation giving you those negative emotions. Isn’t God good? You can activate the power of God in your life and see miracles in your situation by emulating our Lord and savior. I encourage you today, study John 11 preferably the King James version, allow the Holy Spirit to minister to you comfort through his word. I didn't even get to explain the preceding scriptures; so many helpful words, and God's word is spirit and life John 6:63. Studying of the word produces healing to our emotions. take time today and bask in God's love through worship, praying in the spirit, praying and speaking to your situation.

Philippians 4:7

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Instead of building walls around your heart, allow peace to guard your heart. 

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