1 John 2: 15-17 (MSG)

^15-17 Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.

This passage, and this week’s sermon, really hit me over the head.

God is so gracious to answer my prayers in such a public way (with this being the scripture I get to blog about this week) that I feel like I have to share this! After all, every testimony begins with a “test”, right? He gave me this one, so I’m going to show my humanness with y’all today. I hope you don’t mind!

You see the past couple of weeks I’ve been struggling with something - this longing to feel important to someone, to my job, to my family, to my friends, to my church. I’ve been crying out for someone to tell me that I’m important to them. And this is God’s answer to my cries. HE is the answer. “Wanting to appear important” and what does that do? “It isolates you from him.” All this time, I hadn’t looked to Him for what He thinks about me because I was isolating myself from my Father. I let the world, and people dictate my attitude and worthiness because I didn’t feel important to the world, because I didn’t think anyone could see me.

Please tell me this isn’t just me! Please tell me others feel this way from time to time!

All this time I was searching for acknowledgement from people or events in my life, and because of that I was causing a separation between me and God. And I didn’t even see it until He gave me this scripture! All this “want” in the world, all we strive to obtain, really means nothing because it’s of this world, not of Him. And He will fill every crevice of our lives if we let Him in. And you know what? We have to let Him in over and over and over again. It’s not a one-time occurrence, but a practice of true surrender. To give Him the importance in our hearts that He rightfully deserves. To let go of our earthly wants and to want HIM with everything we are.

We cannot stand against the temptations of each day without receiving Him in our hearts – freshly and genuinely – every day. The wants of this world are fleeting, but He is always and forever constant. And we GET Him for eternity!

Father, thank you for grace and mercy and for showing your children that we are important to You always. I pray that you become the WANT in each of our lives above all else, and that we live that out loud. I love You. In Jesus Name, Amen.

I’d love to hear how this passage speaks to you!

Toni