Examine Your Love for God

by Truly

Proverbs 3:5,6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Does anybody trust God more today than a few weeks ago or even a few months ago? Do you have more trust now? Do you have more confidence in the Word now? Has your faith grown over the last few weeks and months?  I hope so. I hope you see what God has been doing for us over the last few months.

He began by teaching us how to meditate on His Word. The scripture He offered us was one of great hope and very uplifting. We meditated on it with various techniques and began to let it sink into our hearts. The more we meditated on it, the stronger our faith grew in it. We gained confidence in it. We gained confidence that God has a plan for our life and one that will give us success. Basically through our lessons of meditation, God taught us how to put his Word in our hearts and have confidence in them. Thus our faith grew stronger. Jeremiah 29:11-13 were just the encouraging words we needed to know that God has a lovely plan for our lives.

With Proverbs 3:5,6 God is moving us to gain trust in Him, something more than confidence alone. Trust will not move you when your confidence is tested. Trust does not move by what it sees. Trust does not care about circumstances. Trust does not find doubt as a hurdle. Trust is steadfast. Trust in unstoppable. Trust works. Confidence knows the Word. Confidence has knowledge. But trust is more than knowledge and knowing. Trust is not completely based on knowing God's Word and his promises. Trust does not simply hope and believe for God's Word to work.

Trust is super-powered by the love you have for God. Trust is based on your true love for God. Trust relies on your love for God. Yes, trust knows that God loves you but trust works strongest when based on knowing how much you love Him.

Yes I know that God loves me unconditionally. I know He created me with great love. I know He created me with a special purpose. I know God loves me so very much that He sent his one and only Son to die so that I may be with Him eternally.

John 3:16
For God so love the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

I know God loves me but my trust will depend on my love for Him. My trust will be strong when I know my deep love for Him. When I say that I trust in the Lord, it will be a statement of my love for Him. The question is “Do you love God?” Do you truly love your Father God? If the answer is yes, then trust must become part of your relationship with Him. Trust is going to have to show itself to Him.

The question this week is:
Do you love God?
Do you truly love God?
This is the question we will examine this week in order to find our trust in Him. Remember God is leading this study, not me. I did not see this coming, but I am ready and willing to follow Him. Are you?

If we want to trust God with everything, we need to examine and see our love for Him. We have been meditating and speaking Proverbs 3:5. We have declared to ourselves and the earth, to God and to Satan that we trust in the Lord.

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart.

We want to trust in Him with all our heart. We are working to get there. But we are not there yet. Honestly I have a good ways to go. God wants to work inside us this week so that when we speak those words, “I trust in the Lord” they mean more than just words. He wants us to begin to feel their true meaning in our hearts. So this week we will examine our love for God. It may seem a bit scary. But it will only help us grow closer to trusting Him.

God is asking us this:
Do you _______(your name)____________ love God?
Do you _______(your name)__________ truly love God?
“Do you truly love God?” is asking you “Do you honestly love God?” Is it genuine love?

Start by answering this simple question:
Do you love God?     Yes or No
Do you truly love Him?     Yes or No

Do you have an honest, genuine love for Him? for someone you have never seen or maybe never heard? Do you have real love for someone who has never touched you? Do you feel a genuine love for someone whom you can not see nor have any idea of how they look? You may not even know the sound of their voice. If you say yes, I love God, yes I truly love Him, let's examine your love for Him.

I love God. I truly love God. I have a genuine, honest love for God. I love Him without seeing Him or hearing his audible voice. I love Him without ever touching Him. I love God truly, honestly and genuinely.

Next question: Why?
(Sorry, I didn't want to write it anymore than you wanted to hear it.)

Why do you love God?
Why do you truly love God?
Why do you have an honest and genuine love for God, an unseen and unheard God?

I have some help so don't despair!
Continue to meditate on Proverbs 3:5,6.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

In particular focus on “Trust in the LORD with all your heart” while examining these questions and working to answer them.

Don't worry about your answers. Don't be concerned if you are slow to answer “Why do I love God?” It is a serious, serious question, and it came for our Father himself. I don't think there is any reason to rush for an answer. I think He would prefer an answer that came from much thought of the heart. Take your time. Think with your heart instead of your mind. Think of Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart” and know God is with you as you examine your love for Him. He has a purpose, and a desire to bring you closer to Him. So trust Him now as you contemplate your answer to the question “Why do you love God?”

This is your lesson for the week.
Ask yourself:
Why do I ______(your name)______ love God?
Why do I ______(your name)______ truly and honestly love God?

Meditate on Proverbs 3:5 while answering this question. You have the week to consider this question. It is a necessary task so that we may take trust in God to a deeper level. It is nothing to be ashamed of or worried about. It is between you and God. Trust Him with this task, and let Him bring you closer to Him.

Sometimes God wants to take us to a place that may be uncomfortable but only to bring us to the truth. When the truth is revealed in our lives it will set you free. God has a plan this week. If God asks you a serious question or a serious request, you better believe He has a serious plan behind it. He has a serious plan of success for you.

God knows the plans He has for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Let's dig deep this week and take a look at ourselves and our love for God. We can do it and watch God shine through it.

This week:
Each day ask yourself:
Why do I love God?
Why do I truly love God?

As you think and carefully consider your answer, simply jot down your thoughts. This is not your absolute answer, this is your thoughts. As you jot them down, as a rough draft, pray that God will help you honestly answer the question. Let your thoughts flow out and land on your paper. Watch to see what happens.

I highly encourage you to do this. Our minds can not keep track of this thought process as it is interrupted throughout our busy day. Write down your thoughts to this question so that they can flow. If you write a few thoughts down in the day and stop to do something else, you can later read what you wrote and return to that place.

Don't expect to know what God wants from us with this question. Simply be obedient and learn. God has a mighty plan and purpose with this particular lesson.

Join me in this prayer to prepare for this week's lesson:

Oh Dear Father God,
What are you asking of us? We love you, yes! But this question of such serious nature creates concern that we may lack the right answer. Though we know that is not your purpose here, we feel inadequate to supply the answer that would be most like Jesus. Father we will be obedient, and we will trust you in this task. We do love you greatly Father, and we know you will walk us through this. Thank you for such an opportunity to honestly examine our love for you in order to let it grow even stronger. We expect great and mighty things to come from this weeks lesson.

We know that you are teaching us just how to trust you. Thank you for bringing us so far in such a short time. We trust you Lord. Guide us into a place of honesty as we answer “Why do I love God?' Let our hearts open up so that we may see deep inside ourselves and know our true answer.

Father we will not forget to keep this task in mind each day and answer this question for you. You are our hope and our future. You are our everything.

We pray to God because our Savior Jesus died for us.
In Jesus name.
Amen.