What Does God Want From Us?

Have you ever asked yourself just what it is that God wants from you above all else?  What the real purpose of life is? Most of us, at one time or another, have at least considered questions such as these in the midst of life's ups and downs. I know I have. Growing up, I attended church regularly but never really knew God in a personal way. If you had asked me if I believed in Him, I would have said yes, although my belief was little more than mere head knowledge about a very distant, demanding God who was always ready to punish. Not surprisingly, my "faith" was weak and superficial. If you had asked me then what God wanted from me above all else or what the purpose of life was, I probably would have said something like "to be a good person, to behave, or to simply obey the rules...that the point of our existence was to just not live wrongly or make God mad." And of course, this is a misinformed perspective about what God most wants from us.

Along those same lines, there are various other perspectives on this issue. Author John Eldredge says that within Christian circles "from some denominations we're told that what God wants is obedience, or sacrifice, or adherence to the right doctrines, or morality. The more therapeutic churches suggest that no, God is after our contentment, or happiness, or self-actualization, or something else along those lines. God is concerned about all these things, of course, but they are not His primary concern."

So, what is God's primary concern? Fortunately, we can go straight to the source Himself to find out. Looking at Scripture, we find that Jesus was actually confronted with this very question by the Pharisees and experts in the law who were testing Him as they asked, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?" Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment" (Matt. 22:37-38).

There it is. Above all else, God is concerned that we love Him. Nothing is more important to Him than that. He is more concerned that you love Him than He is with anything else, even more so than your service, good deeds, sacrifice or giving. Yes, loving Him is the primary purpose of life, what He wants most from us. You see, God knows that when we love Him first, the other things He desires for us will follow. Out of our love for Him we will naturally serve, give, obey and love others sacrificially. And when we do, it will be a joy and not a burden. The more we love Him with our heart, soul and mind, the more His love will simply flow out of us for the world around to experience. But we have to start with Him...receiving His love and loving Him in response.

Let me take this a step further to emphasize the essence of what God desires. God is not satisfied with our good "Christian duties" if we don't truly love Him. In the book of Isaiah God speaks a powerful message to His half-hearted people as He says, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is made up only of rules made by men" (29:13). Put simply, God is not pleased with people going through the motions of "Christianity," doing their good deeds and services if their hearts are not completely His...if they don't truly love Him.

A respected pastor once told me, "God is not as concerned with activities as He is with relationships." And the relationship He is most concerned with is the one between you and Him. In reality, He is more concerned that you love Him than He is that you run around doing a bunch of activities and things for Him. This is not to diminish the good works God uses us for in this life. Of course, when we love Him good works should be a natural result. But they are not the point. Loving Him is the point. I'm completely convinced that everything in life should flow out of your relationship with God, your love for Him. When that is first in your life, your other priorities fall into place. You are able to serve, give, sacrifice, love others and so on, out of your love for Him. You will want to do these things. If you don't really love Him you end up doing them out of a sense of duty and obligation, and this is not pure. This becomes grueling and exhausting, leaving you burned out and frustrated.

Later in Scripture Jesus actually goes as far to say that all of the other commands hinge on this first one to love God (and others). And this is why He commands that we love Him first. He knows this must be the foundation, the starting point for all we do. Even our ability and motivation for obeying the other commands will only be true when we love Him first. If not, we will bear little fruit that lasts, in spite of how much "good" we attempt to do. As Jesus said, “Remain in Me as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me" (John 15:4).

Let this message not be a burden causing you to try harder to please God. But rather, let a sense of freedom come as you realize that God just wants you. He just wants your love. Certainly the other commands are important and good works are desired, but they will fall into place naturally with joy as you love Him first. So today, I encourage you to simply take a break for a moment, even from your good deeds, and simply love God. Nothing else you do today will matter more than this. And truly, all else you do hinges on this.

So can we actually love God with all of our heart, soul and mind if we don't really know Him in a personal way? We will discuss this aspect of loving God in the next post...

"In quietness and trust is your strength." Isaiah 30:15

This passage of Scripture struck me as I opened to Isiah to spend some time with God. It was actually highlighted from a previous days reading, yet had not resonated with me at the time. However, this time the words seemed to be jumping off the page. So profound, yet so simple: "In quietness and trust is your strength."
The ability to be strong rests not in human might or brute force, but in stillness and belief in the goodness of God. When one is able to calm the mind and soul from controlling/striving/worrying, and simply trust in Him, strength is produced. A confidence in His strength is realized. I cannot muster up enough strength on my own...I've tried this in the past with little success. However, when I quiet my mind and quiet my soul I can focus on His love and goodness. This inevitably brings me to a place of trust and dependence on Him...and this is where true strength is found. Not in trying to "be" strong. In reality it's actually quite the opposite as I need only to "be" still and let God be strong in me. What a sense of relief and peace this brings to know that it's not up to me to be strong. I can rest in Him and know that by simply doing so I am strong. Truly it is a sign of real strength when one is able to surrender your effort to be strong on your own and depend on the Lord instead.

"Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). Again, to settle one's self before God and recognize who He is will produce strength. A healthy recognition of His nature will bring one to a place of trust every time. "God is love" (1 John 4:8). "The Lord is righteous in all His ways and loving toward all His creation" (Psalm 145:17). "For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations" (Psalm 100:5). "Fear not for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you and I will help you" (Isaiah 41:10). “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:28-29).  "In all things God works for the good of those who love Him..." (Romans 8:28). This is merely a snapshot of the character of God and as we draw closer to Him our trust grows, allowing us to find our strength in who He is, rather than in who we are. The more we know Him the more worthy we find Him to be of our trust and we can quietly and confiedently come before Him in our time of need.

As my study Bible so accurately states, "A right relationship with God brings quietnes, the ability to be calm, because one trusts in him to keep His promises." For me, my strength is directly linked to my relationship with God. I'm not naturally strong-minded, so the ability to quiet my soul and trust in Him is essential. No striving. No worrying. No letting my emotions control me. Just trusting in Him while knowing He is my strength.

Do you need your strength renewed? If so, don't simply try harder, relying on your own effort and ability. Instead, do what seems to go against your natural instinct and simply be still, draw close to God and let His strength renew you. He desires peace for you, not the burden of trying to be strong. So quiet yourself before God and begin to trust in who He is and watch as He fills you with His strength...His freedom-giving, peace-producing, effortless strength.