Far too many Christians I know spend the majority of their time beating themselves up, trying so hard to please a God who they think is out to get them. And from time to time I talk to people who are thinking about giving up. Today was one of those days. One of them said “I just can’t do this anymore, I want to back off all this so the devil will leave me alone and give me a break.” When I hear this kind of talk, it really grieves me. But not nearly as much as it grieves Jesus. After all, I wasn’t the one who died for the sins of the world, Jesus was. When you read the gospels, you can see there were times it would have been easier for Him to back off. Especially when it came time to go to the cross. I’m sure I’ll never be able to grasp how much love it took for Jesus to endure the agony of the cross. And I’ll never understand why He loved me enough to do it for me. But I’m sure glad He did. Because He did, eternal life is laid up for me, and for all who call upon Him to be their Lord and Savior.

And to think someone would be willing to throw that away for a short season of easier times here, escapes me entirely. Sure, life can be hard. Jesus never promised us roses without thorns. He said the servant is not above his master. But He said we wouldn’t go through trials alone. He will go with us every step of the way, which brings me to a point.
The other night I was going through the valley, so to speak. Actually, I was tunneling under the valley. And the Spirit of the Lord spoke to me plain as day. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. I’m not out to get you, I’m your ally, not your enemy. I’m on your side. Why do you think I went to the cross for you?”  Boy, I don’t know much of anything that will make your day any quicker than that! I want so much to be pleasing to the Lord, and it’s always a battle with the flesh, because the flesh wants to be pleased.
 The Lord isn’t nearly as hard to please as people think He is. God is well pleased when you tell Him you want to be pleasing to Him. Know why? Because many not only aren’t trying to please God, they done even remotely care about pleasing Him. Just the fact that you desire to be His child speaks to His heart. That’s why He is so merciful to us.
When Moses was speaking with God one day, he asked God to show him His glory. In other words, Moses wanted to know the characteristics of God; His name, so to speak. So the Lord passed before Moses and proclaimed the name of the Lord. Which brings me now to the point of today’s devotional; to proclaim to you who God is, what He is about, and why you need His love so much, and why He needs to be your Lord, right now. Exodus 34:5-6 says, “And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, THE LORD GOD, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” You see, the Lord God of Moses wants to show you the same mercy He has always had. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He loves you forever. What more can I say? “Come, Lord Jesus, be my Lord. And so can you! Let’s do it right now.

Lord God, I am in need of Your mercy, grace, longsuffering, goodness, and truth. I need You to be my Lord and Savior. I need You right now to forgive my sins, and come live in me. I want to be pleasing to You, Lord, let me be one of Yours, I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Taken from Jerry’s daily devotional, “Every Day With Jesus”