Keys to the Kingdom
By Carolyn Tucker
How does God feel?
One morning I had a fleeting thought that I wanted to call Mom. But she’s been gone since May 2015. When you dearly love someone and then they’re no longer around, you miss the sound of their voice and the close relationship you shared. If Mom were still here, she would encourage me, give advice (if asked), kiss and hug me and say, “I love you.“ We had a sweet mother-daughter bond and I knew her like the back of my hand. We always listened closely to each other’s heart. It’s been said that people may not remember what you said but they remember how you made them feel.
Have you ever wondered how you, as a believer, make God feel? I just read an Oswald Chambers quote in one of my old journals and, with tears welling up in my eyes, it caused me to pause and think. He wrote: “We don’t consciously and deliberately disobey God — we simply don’t listen to Him. God has given His commands to us, but we pay no attention to them — not because of willful disobedience, but because we do not truly love and respect Him. Am I constantly humiliating God by ignoring Him, while He lovingly continues to treat me as His child?”
The scriptures reveal that God has feelings/emotions. Here are just a few references: “But Moses again pleaded, ’Lord, please! Send anyone else.’ Then the Lord became angry with Moses” (Exodus 4:13-14 NLT). If we push His buttons long enough, He can get angry. “For the Lord your God is living among you. He will take delight in you with gladness” (Zephaniah 3:17 NLT). God experiences great pleasure in His children. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 NKJV). God loves extravagantly. Love is who He is. “The Lord hates these seven things: eyes that show pride, tongues that tell lies, hands that kill innocent people, hearts that plan evil things to do, feet that run to do evil, witnesses in court who tell lies, and anyone who causes family members to fight” (Proverbs 6:16-19 ERV). God’s love is to the moon and back, therefore, He hates wickedness and injustice to the max.
I think there’s a possibility that we sometimes treat God worse than we would treat our family or friends. If my best friend knocked on the door and I didn’t let her in, that would hurt her feelings. How often does God knock on our heart’s door and we act like we’re not home? How often do we neglect to read His 66 love letters? Not reading the Bible is the same as refusing to listen to Him. God also speaks to us in other ways but we can’t hear Him because we don’t want to be still. To truly love and respect God we must first know Him, and that requires spending a significant amount of time with Him.
Since God loves believers as His very own children, the last thing we want to do is disrespect and ignore Him. We don’t want to be disloyal simply because we’re hard of hearing. As our heavenly Father, He deserves our utmost love and deepest respect all the days of our lives.
The Key: God feels delight when His children make time to love, honor, obey, and worship Him.