I witnessed a drama between my wife and our son. The mum called him to come change his clothes. He was not answering her. So, she deviced a strategy. She called him; “Come and take biscuits.” Immediately, he ran to meet her. This common parent-child drama communicated a deep truth to me; love God for who He is, not what He gives.
Friend, you need to love God for who He is, not for what He gives. This is the acid test for genuine followership (John 6:26-27). A lot of people are only following God for what He gives. Like the Israelites, once He stops giving them, they stop following (Psalm 78:17-20). They wanted God’s blessings, but not a relationship with Him.
What about you? Do you only want God’s blessings and not a relationship with Him? Our relationship with God should be our priority (Matthew 6:33). The blessings should flow out of the relationship. The relationship or followership must not be determined by the blessings. We should commit to serving God no matter what (Job 13:15).
God is good. But there are times it does not seem so (Romans 8:35-39). Genuine love for God must be based on the understanding that He is a good God, even when things don’t look good. Through the good times and the bad times, we must see Him as God and as good (Romans 8:28). Until you see God this way, your Christian life will be unstable.
You can have the gift without the giver, but you cannot have the giver without the gift (Genesis 15:1-6). You need to choose what you want. The giver, or the gift? Those who pursue the gift and not the giver end up sacrificing their relationship with God and end up making a shipwreck of destiny (Jude 1:11). Don’t fall for this temptation and distraction.
Learn to give God your attention (Matthew 4:19). It is not every time that God is giving you. There are times when His main operation in your life is to make you. At this point, it would seem that God is not good. The making hand of God is better than His giving hand. When you open yourself to His making hands, you end up being in command of what He gives (Genesis 25:5-6). Stop looking for gold. Look for God!
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria