Tag: God’s love

SalFalko / Foter.com / CC BY-NC

One recent Christmas, my Dad wasn’t sure what to get me so he surprised me by asking me, “What store would you like to go to so I can buy you your gift?”

Wow, my Dad has always been big on gift-giving but this was very unexpected! It caught me so off guard, that I went blank. After a few moments, something came to mind. Thankfully, it wasn’t out of his price range so my Dad happily said yes and we made arrangements to go to the store the very next day.

I won’t tell you what I requested because that’s not as important as the fact that my Dad asked me what I wanted and he enjoyed giving it to me. Had I asked for something really small, that’s what I would have gotten. But I dared to ask him for something a little bigger and he happily obliged. I know it brought him joy to be able get me something that I needed.

I couldn’t help but be reminded that in an even greater way, that is how our Heavenly Father is with us!

Through prayer, we get to ask our Abba Father for our heart’s desires.  As long as we are asking according to His will, He enjoys giving us those desires in His timing. He loves it when we go to Him with our needs, no matter how big or how small. But when we ask Him, He wants us to want Him more than anything or anyone, and He wants us to ask Him with faith that He hears us and that He will answer us.

So what are you asking God for? Do you trust Him enough to ask Him for big things? Do you ask Him believing that He can do the seemingly impossible?

I’m not talking about material things here. I’m talking about the priceless gifts like peace in your storm, physical or emotional healing, restoration in your relationships, the salvation of loved ones, some other breakthrough or even all of the above!

God still does miracles! Believe!

I love how the Christmas story is filled with the miraculous! (Matthew 1 – 2 and Luke 1-2)

There is:

• Jesus, the Son of God, being born of a virgin!
• An angel appearing to Joseph in a dream and telling him that the child Mary is having was conceived from the Holy Spirit and that they are to call him Jesus because He will save His people from their sins!
• An angel announcing to Zechariah that he and Elizabeth would have a son, despite their old age, and that they are to call him John.
• An angel that appears to the shepherds and announces the birth of the Savior/Messiah. The shepherds even get to witness a heavenly choir rejoicing.
• The Magi who find Jesus just by having the courage to follow a star!

Not to mention all the prophesies that Jesus fulfilled on His birthday and everything He would go on to do while walking on earth!

The list goes on and on.

Now tell me, what is too difficult for God? What would loving God withhold from His children? He gave us the gift of Jesus, His one and only Son, and the gift of eternal life.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Let’s stop for a moment and let that really sink in. It’s really too great to ever fully comprehend the depth of God’s love for us. Yes, love came down on Christmas!

No matter what you’re facing, keep drawing closer to God my friends! God loves you more than you can imagine, and Nothing is impossible for Him!

If you’re just starting out your walk with Jesus, please click here to learn more.

Did this encourage you?  Feel free to leave a comment or hit “Like” below. To get my free e-booklet MiraculousLovely Abroad: Lessons and Snapshots From the Mission Fields and to get these posts e-mailed straight to your inbox, click here. To find MiraculousLovely on YouTube, click here. To find MiraculousLovely on Pinterest, click here.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

The other day I was chatting with my sister and her kids via Face Time. We were winding down the call so we decided to pray before we hung up. After I had finished praying for all of them, my 8-year-old nephew made this sweet request.

“Bless me again!”

How precious! He just started third grade so I thought perhaps he had something special going on so I joyfully asked God to shower him with even more blessings! It was my pleasure.

It wasn’t until after I said, “Amen,” that my nephew thanked me and then explained that he had sneezed during my first prayer so he had just wanted a simple, “God bless you” in response to his sneeze. Too funny! I just laughed and said he had received a double portion of blessings. He laughed and said he had gotten a triple portion!

Why am I sharing this? Because when I think back to how happy I was when my nephew requested a blessing, I get a glimpse of how God must feel when we ask Him to bless us. It must be music to His ears.

As believers, we are His children. God delights in giving His children the desires of their heart (as long as they line up with His will for our lives).

He doesn’t roll His eyes when we come to Him in prayer. He wants us to turn to Him for everything. He loves it when we spend time with Him.

Of course we have to ask with right motives and we should spend time thanking Him and praising Him first, but I think our Heavenly Father smiles when we ask Him for the blessings that He already has in store for us.

But don’t just take my word for it. The Bible says:

• For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. (Psalm 84:11).
• “Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.” (Isaiah 61:7).
• “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7-11).

Don’t get me wrong. God is obviously not a candy store clerk who will cater to our every whim and let us overdose on sugar. However, He’s also not an ogre who wants us to be miserable.

God is our loving Father who wants what’s best for us and that includes blessing us.

No matter what you’re facing today, don’t be afraid to go to God with it. He cares and understands.

See if He won’t open the windows of heaven. It might not come in your timing or even how you expected it, but He will bless you.

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)

Did this encourage you?  Feel free to leave a comment or hit “Like” below. To get my free e-booklet MiraculousLovely Abroad: Lessons and Snapshots From the Mission Fields and to get these posts e-mailed straight to your inbox, click here.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.