Reflecting on the love of God, I remembered some instructions God challenged me with several years ago.
L – Listen to the Holy Spirit.
O – Offer praise and thanksgiving.
V – View everything through the lens of heaven.
E – Exercise your faith.
Listen
Now listening may be easy for you, but prayer often consists of me talking a lot. But I was challenged to develop the discipline of listening because Jesus said that His sheep would know his voice.
How wonderful if we could still ourselves to hear his whispers of love and gentle nudges to walk in kindness and forgiveness.
Offer Praise
The psalms have extended my understanding of praise.
For example, they describe shouts of praise; kneeling in humility; expressing gratitude and surrender by extending our hand; raising our hands as an outward sign of adoration; celebrating extravagantly to show jubilation; singing scripture; dancing and playing musical instruments.
Jesus deserves all these aspects of worship as a minimum and I was stretched to enrich the praise I offered Him.
View through the lens of heaven
It helps me to see the lens of heaven as love.
Love changes us. Love melts our insecurities. Love casts out fear.
Jesus’ love captivates our hearts and by believing in Him, we become the beloved of God.
Exercise your faith.
Thank goodness that we only need to activate a mustard seed of faith. Even in this turbulent year, we can walk in calm and peace because Jesus won the victory on the cross. His joy defeats depression. His light overcomes darkness. His strength sustains us in our weakness. The list is endless because He is a God without limits.
For this is how much God loved the world – he gave his one and only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life. (John 3:16 TPT)
Thank You Father for sending us Jesus, Your greatest love gift. He deserves all praise for giving us a glimpse of heaven. Help us to walk in L.O.V.E. and to share it everywhere. Amen.
Written by Ragini Hildreth a member of Hope Church
