[mp_row]
[mp_span col=”12″]
[mp_image id=”166″ size=”full” link_type=”custom_url” link=”#” target=”false” caption=”false” align=”left”]
[/mp_span]
[/mp_row]
[mp_row]
[mp_span col=”12″ style=”min-height: 50px;” classes=” motopress-space”]
[mp_space margin=”none,20,none,none”]
[/mp_span]
[/mp_row]
[mp_row]
[mp_span col=”12″]
In Genesis 1:26(NKJV), God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God is having a conversation with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit about doing something that is beyond our capability to fully appreciate and comprehend. When we read about human creation, it seems effortless. Everything that God does seems this way, but it would be a mistake if we didn’t take the time to allow the enormity of what He’s done for us to soak in thoroughly. We need to break it down and digest the heft of what has happened. Heavenly Father, the Creator of the entire universe, wanted children! Not just any children, but those made in His image, according to His likeness. Please understand, there’s no greater likeness than the likeness of God. There’s no greater image, than the image of God. This means something astronomically incredible! In short, it means that all the heartaches, problems, and tribulations you might be facing today contain something that is meant for the increase of your greatness, and you need to find out what it is.
The one thing on which you can depend is that God wants you to be in His image, and according to His likeness. This is a truth that has no end. It is true and constant. It is a truth so strong that your entire eternity rests upon it.
God wants fellowship with you. This in and of itself is an amazing truth to know. We were created for God’s good pleasure, and His good pleasure is to love us and be loved by us. Jesus Christ tells us in John 4:24 that God is a Spirit, and we must worship Him in Spirit and in truth. God IS Spirit, and He created man as a spirit and then clothed him in a body—an earth-suit, made of dust. But be clear, you are a spirit-being, made in the very image of God.
The magnificent thing is that God created us from who He is. We are made by Him, and we are made from His very essence. He also gave us His nature—His likeness. An aspect of His nature is self-determination. He is sovereign. There’s no body like Him—no holiness like His Holiness, no power like His power. And like Himself, he has made us self-determining spirit-beings as well. We have free-will, which is the power of choice.
1John 4:8 tells us that God is love. So, you and I can know that free-will must be a necessary component for the expression of love, and that we cannot love fully without it. Love is the overall nature of God, and He has demonstrated the power that love possesses. So, if we are dealing with a situation that feels very much like bondage, if we’re feeling like we can’t move freely in our circumstances—if there are problems on the job, bills are mounting, relationships are breaking apart, loneliness is increasing, health challenges abound, and/or it feels as if four walls are closing in, we must consider that there may be a breakdown in our demonstration of the nature of love.
God didn’t make a mistake. We are made in His image and empowered with His nature, and there is no flaw in what He’s given us. There is, often, a breakdown when we don’t mix our faith with God’s love. This is where we malfunction, because we’re not doing what we are meant to do. We’re trying to operate against our very nature, and the end result of this will always be chaos and confusion that are very often in the form of problems and tribulations.
LOVE’S OPERATION
Love is never stagnant. God proved this to us throughout His Word. Love is more potent than any of us can imagine. It’s powerful enough to fuel infinity. Love transforms, heals, delivers, and changes things for the better. It motivates and creates. It’s patient, kind, compassionate, forgiving, generous, joyful, never boastful, never gives up or loses faith, is always encouraging, and always wants the best for everyone and everything. The critical truth that you must trust is that the love of God operating within you will cause you to remain at this increasingly high standard of love continually.
WHAT OUR PROBLEMS TELL US
Our unsolved problems tell us that we are not operating at the highest standard of which we are capable. We tell ourselves that we can’t do it, because the enemy has bombarded us with negative messages, and they’ve slipped through the defenses of our consciousness. We’ve told ourselves that it’s okay to remain where we are, that we’re loving and doing enough to satisfy the requirements of our destinies. Our problems testify that this isn’t the truth.
People’s inclination is to absolve themselves of accountability and responsibility. They immediately assume that accepting responsibility and being accountable means that everything is their fault. It doesn’t. Problems are rooted in darkness, and darkness is another word for ignorance. We don’t know everything. If we did, we wouldn’t need to renew our minds to God’s Word. He tells us in Ephesians 4:23 to renew our minds because He knows our minds NEED to be renewed. We are operating from a mindset we cultivated from worldliness. Now that Jesus is Lord of our lives, we have to make a switch. Sometimes the way that we do this is to look at consequences that the wrong mindset has left us, because those troubling consequences notify us that a change is necessary.
Without being accountable and responsible for where we are in life, we will never change. A renewed mind is a change of mind, and this change is motivated from recognizing error and the need for correction. You and I MUST hold ourselves accountable, because no one can change our minds and change the trajectory of our lives except us. If we don’t correct ourselves, no one will do it for us. This is why repentance is such a crucial spiritual practice.
Our problems give us an enormous piece of information. It’s a piece of information that we can’t do without. Our problems—confusion, financial debt, health challenges, emotional imbalance, can’t find a husband, broken relationship, broken marriages—these are all critical warning signs that we’re about to miss God’s timing. We’re about to miss the season of His rewards. Our thinking and mode of operating is causing us to miss our calling, and walk outside His Will. The bombardment of problems that seem unsolvable are warnings that we’re out of synch with our destinies, and we should grow to love these warnings. This is what the Apostle Paul meant when he said in Romans 5:3-5(NLT), “3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”
Stay Tuned for Part 3
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Three Things that Build Your Faith, Part2 -Avoid A Love Breakdown” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2018. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.
[/mp_span]
[/mp_row]