Inspired

“I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.” Jeremiah 32:40

There are going to be times in our lives when God gives us great challenges so that we can accomplish greater things for his glory. Are those kinds of challenges fun? joyful? inspiring? In short, no. Will we be better for having gone through them? Will God use those low times to refine us? Will He do a kind of work in us that changes us at our core? Absolutely. And when the clouds begin to part after a prolonged storm, we will appreciate the sun, or should I say the Son, like we never have before!

God told Jeremiah that He would inspire Israel to fear Him.

I’m sorry…did I hear that right? To “fear” Him? Yes, to fear Him. Why fear? Because God doesn’t mean “fear” in a way that makes you want to run and hide under the bed. “Fear”, from God’s perspective, means that we will want to please Him above everyone and everything else. It means that we’ll want to love Him so much, and please Him so much, that we no longer fear the things of this world. Can you imagine that?

So how would that be done? God said that inspiration like that will be done by Him doing continual good for them, and us – but only after we go through a life-transforming period of knowing brokenness. It means that we have to finally get to a point where we truly understand, in our heart of hearts, that only God can give us what we truly need. It means that we also recognize that the parting of the clouds is because HE made it happen, not ourselves. Only at that point can we truly be inspired. Inspired to love God more. Inspired to see His hand in all of the pieces of our lives. Inspired to see the good that He is working. Inspired to never turn away from Him, and His love.

Is brokenness ever easy? Can’t I just ask God for whatever I want, and promise to do better? Nope. It just doesn’t work that way, even when we wish it did. And why not? Because being broken means giving up the sense that we can fix anything on our own. Being broken means that we know in the deepest part of our being that God is so much bigger than ourselves, and bigger than our challenges. But the good news is that our infinite God wants to give us so much more than the here and now. He wants for us to truly be inspired by His love for us, and by His promises. And our problems are so very here and now. We view our lives in terms of our very limited view of the universe. We ask for His help to get through the next test, the next argument, the next doctor’s report, the next bill, the next whatever. What God really wants to give us is eternal – that never expires, that never runs out, that never leaves us wanting for more.

Can you get inspired for that kind of love? I know that I want, and need, that kind of inspiration!

Heavenly Father, thank you for promising to love us, and inspire us, by making us keep our eyes on You. Thank you for the blessings that you give us when we do, and for the blessings that you promise to give us when we keep doing that. Thank you for getting us through today, by your grace and mercy. Thank you for letting us breath in your love, even when it’s hard to catch our breath in the middle of life’s challenges. Bless all of those people who need to be inspired today, including myself, and I ask you to make your promises so very real to each one of us. Keep us inspired through whatever the future holds. Hold us up when the world gets the best of us, and remind us always that you are there, and that you are so very real. Thank you, Lord, and I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright ConnieD. 2012. All rights reserved.

Originally posted on ProChristianWoman.