How many of you have wept at night over broken hearts?
And how many of you are now too proud to admit it?
I wonder the wisdom of this sort of pride. We too have had this problem in heaven, ages ago.
I do not mean to say that that particular hurt is still going on in you, but there are more pains that scars can cause in addition to the initial experience. A scar by it's very nature does not cause pain, rather it is open for the world to see. And we have quite a view from up here. You see your scars have brought upon a different pain in your life. It has brought upon fear.
Do you remember when you were 18? Do you remember it was you who turned on Him first? You turned on him as most of you do in college. American colleges have such a bad reputation to the general public, for parties, sexual promiscuity, drinking, drugs, living a life with no worries, and especially no consequences. Yet in your life, my friends, you have had to deal with consequences, haven't you? You have had to deal with a broken heart. Some people, and even some of your friends, called you unlucky. You may also have though to yourself that you were unlucky. But is this truly unlucky? I do not think so. I do not mean to say your pain was a good thing, but rather that it was pointing out to you that your wound needed healing. And God only disciplines those He love. And be assured that there is a difference between punishment and discipline. The former pays, but the latter grows.
In the Bible, as always, there are many examples for you to see where others had broken hearts. Many people, after having been blessed by God, have turned from Him once the blessings had come. His people turned from Him to worshiping themselves by living for their legacies, their own names, their pleasures, their own ambitions, and did not follow him any longer. God, in love, turned from them, speaking clearly through His people, saying that since you have turned from me, I too will show you what it is like when I turned my back on you. And they began to see what a life without their maker was like, and they began to weep and mourn, because they learned that even their families, their wealth, their happiness, was wrought by him, and withdrawn by him.
My friends, you too have done the same thing.
Why have you lived only for your own pleasures and exaltation, following moral codes that only you deemed worthy or valuable to you in your own world? Do you think that no one sees? Is it not your place to turn back to him, because it was you who turned from him? It is not enough for us to feel sorry either. Let me ask you, would you allow your loving brother to go back to heroin just because he said I'm sorry and wept in front of you? We call for more. We call for more not from our loved ones, but for our loved ones. We call for more because we love them. God in his love calls the same from you. He is saying, "Ask me what you want and I will give it to you, but seek me first." This is not difficult to understand. Do you love your Christmas gift more than your mother who bought it for you? Does a loving daughter care more about her parent's money than her own parents? Does yo best friend care more about the job you landed him, than you? Then why would we think to give God such a cheap love as well? It is when our hearts and our minds desire God's presence, more than his presents, that we have truly turned to God. This is what he means by "Seek me first." This is what it means to love.
And why do we feel it is only our emotions, or our tears that God desires? Or our thoughts, or our strengths, or our work? Do you not desire more from your father than just his money? How many children have complained about this in America! Then why do you not think God desires more from you as well?
Take comfort my dear friend, at times, God desires for you to weep, not because he desires for you to feel pain, but to learn to abide in his love. To be the son and daughter that can stand in the face of trials, that is full of wisdom and understanding, guided by his loving hand, filled with his divine power, having more than an abundance of things in your temporary life here. God is love, and his is greater than any love any man or woman could ever give to you. And what greater love is there than to pay the bills? there is something greater than this (although that is very important), isn't there? What greater love is there than to compromise? There is still something greater, isn't there?
True love is sacrifice. There is no greater love than to die for those you love, wouldn't you agree?
Then open your hearts, be honest, for He has great plans for you, plans to make you prosper, to pour his favor onto you. He has a great wife, a great husband waiting for you, someone who will not cheat on you, steal from you, curse you behind your back, care only of their concerns, take you virginity and leave, use you in any way, ignore you or abuse you and lie to you. He has someone who loves you. But seek him first, just as you would have the loves of your life do for you, not his presents. And when he fills you with his presence your heart will be filled with a perfect love that no human is capable of, a love that casts out all fears, that will give you confidence and courage to see the great rewards he has waiting for those who earnestly seek him.
-A messenger from heaven
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