Second-Guessing God

I John 3:19-20 “This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was a jr. in high school, and had won first place in a music competition. The judges called my name, but I didn’t believe it. I heard my friends cheering, but it still didn’t seem real. Even after I got home and looked at the judges’ remarks, I thought, “They made a mistake. They confused me with someone else.” Now, isn’t that silly? Instead of just enjoying the moment, I had to ruin it with self-doubt and second-guessing.

Sometimes, we do that with our relationships with God. We know that He loves us, but our hearts tell us that surely He’s made a mistake.

We know that we belong to God, if we have believed that Jesus is His Son, and that He took our place at the cross. But our human nature tells us to second guess everything! Our minds tell us one thing, but our hearts tell us another. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things . . .” So when we second guess our status as God’s children, when we feel guilty that we are not doing enough, or that we aren’t good enough, we must set our minds on the love of God. We must remember how much He loves us, and that He knows our hearts!

He knows that we are not perfect. He knows that we cannot save the world – that’s His job. He sees our motives, whether or not they are pure. And He is pleased with that bouquet of daisies we took to our shut-in neighbor. He’s pleased with the extra bag of groceries we bought, and donated to the shelter. He is pleased with the little things, when our motives are pure. If we can do more to show His love, then we should. But we mustn’t let our hearts lie to us and make us feel guilty. Do the little things, and remain focused on His love.

Dear Father, I really do want to please You. Thank You for these verses, which remind me that You are pleased with a pure heart. Help me to do all I can, in the little things of life, to share Your love.
Amen