Talkin 'bout tough love

"My child, don't ignore it when the Lord disciplines you, and don't be discouraged when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights." -Proverbs 11-12

Think about this God is love. He is the very essence of love. He is our perfect model of love. His love is so deep that we won't ever truly know the entirety of it or its depth. We can always press deeper into God's love for us. He is our lover, our best friend and our abba. We have the picture of our daddy wrapping his arms around us, and coddling us and telling us how much he loves us. What a God that is, what other 'god' acrossed history was ever that intimate with their people? While God is our loving father, this also means that he does all things for our good. He loves us so much to hurt us sometimes. Don't let that sound harsh to you, cause I will briefly explain my thoughts..

God is our Shepard among other things, a thought that has stayed with me ever since I heard it is the picture of a shepherd and a sheep who habitually wanders. When this sheep keeps wandering away, it possibly gets hurt yet it does it over and over again. A shepherd would literally break the sheep's legs and then carry it with him. Holding it all the while as it heals. When the sheep is able to walk, it is so used to being close to its shepherd never again does it wander. Do you see it? We are the sheep, God loves us enough to hurt us. He will 'break' our legs to let us be closer to him. Now I'll have you know God NEVER wants us to get hurt, he doesn't want us to continually go through a hard time, but when we fall into those situations, for whatever reason- he will bring something good out of it. He will ALLOW us to be broken so we become closer to him.

Secondly, we may need to have our hearts broken. When we humble ourselves and lay our hearts bare before him they may get broken. But when they do the most amazing thing happens..God picks up every broken piece and places it back in place and when he stands back you know what he sees? He sees a heart akin to that of his precious son, the perfect LAMB Jesus. God may have to hurt us, allow our hearts to break, to transform us.

Next time you feel like its falling apart. Next time you feel like the last few string of life you have are breaking and snapping and your surroundings are crumbling let go. Its not always our place to understand why God allows things or does the things he does. But he is ALWAYS good. And just maybe you have to let go of the things your holding so tightly and give into the breaking to let God come in and heal you. He didn't come to heal the healthy. We can't be fake with God, he sees what condition our hearts are really in, but he can't come in to touch it with the hands of a father until we allow him.

So let God love on you. Climb up into your daddy's lap and gaze into his graceful, beautiful, merciful face and let him teach you his ways. But don't forget to let God love you on you when it hurts.
"I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep." -John 10 14

OH HOW MUCH GOD LOVES US.
Lord reveal every facet of your love to us. God show us what needs to be changed in us so that we can be closer to you. Lord thank you for being our daddy and being such an intimate God who lets us climb into your lap. Lord take us deeper into your love and show us HOW to love like you. Thank you for loving me!!