If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me. Where I am, My servant also will be. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. John 12:26 HCSB
In our children’s church, we have been talking about God’s promises. God made promises to everyone. He promised to love everyone. God created people to love them. He wants people to love Him as well. After the flood of Noah’s time, God sent the rainbow as a promise to everyone He would never again destroy the whole world with a flood. In Romans 10:13, He promises that everyone who calls on His name will be saved.
God also made conditional promises or promises that depend on us and what we do. We must understand this. Our Scripture passage for today is one example in which Jesus clearly explains that God will honor those who serve Him. We must do our part by serving Him, if we want Him to honor us.
There are several other conditional promises in God’s word that come to mind. Romans 8:28 is a prime example. Romans 8:28 says God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. It doesn’t say He works all things together for the good of everyone.
If we want all things, even the bad things in our lives to work out for the good, we must love the Lord and be called according to His purpose. This means we must serve Him and do the things we are called to do.
My favorite Psalm is Psalm 91. In the first verse, there is a conditional promise. It says that the one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty. We are given the freedom to choose where we dwell, so to speak. We must choose to dwell under God’s shelter if we want God’s protection.
This means we must come to Him. We must trust in Him and be obedient. We must have faith in Him. This is how we dwell under God’s protection. When we make this choice, we live under the protection of the Almighty God. Psalm 91 goes on for 14 verses speaking of all the things God will protect us from.
Psalm 34:16-18, tells us that the face of the LORD is set against those who do evil but when the righteous cry out the LORD hears them and delivers them from all their troubles. Verse 18 says the LORD is near the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit.
We know God hates pride (Proverbs 16:18) but when we come to Him in humility and strive to obey His commands and be in a close relationship with Him, He hears our cry and delivers us in times of trouble.
The Bible makes it very clear that if we want all of God’s great promises to apply to us, we must do our part. We are commanded to love Him with all our hearts, soul, and mind. We are commanded to love others as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39).
We must humble ourselves (1 Peter 5:6-7). When we do this, He will exalt us at the proper time and we can cast all our cares on Him. We have nothing to fear and should have no worries. God’s got this.
If you feel like God has abandoned you, think about it. Maybe you are the one who has stepped away. Maybe you are not doing your part. Are you serving Him? Are you using your Spiritual gifts to do what He’s called you to do?
God will love you no matter what, but to enjoy His protection, His peace, and His blessing, you must do your part. You must serve Him and love Him with all you’ve got.
It took me many years to learn that not one thing I had to give up to serve God would ever be missed. There was nothing in my life that would bring me more peace and joy than serving Him.
Not only have I not missed anything I gave up, but I have been blessed with so much more. My prayer for you today is that if you are not already experiencing the blessings that come from serving God, you will humble yourself, serve Him and receive all the blessings He wants to offer to you.
Have a great day!