I don't deserve this!

Most people think that God is waiting for them to mess up so He can punish them. People think He is like the Highway Patrol officer that stands outside his car with his radar pointed like a sniper rifle down the highway to catch speeders. Actually, that may be partially true. However, when God comes after you to pull you over, He does so in love, not to intimidate or threaten, but to warn that your actions could cause harm to yourself and others. God is so loving that He watches over us and takes us out of dangerous situations.

Recently I was talking with a teenager who has been doing drugs for half of his young life. His view of the police was that they were out to get him for no reason at all. People typically think that they don't deserve the punishment they receive for doing something that they don't even think is wrong. Their view of God is that He punishes them for their sin by giving them bad luck or by making them sick. If only they realized that sickness is from the devil and that God's mercies are new every day!

But it doesn't end there. God doesn't suspend our license when He catches us speeding. He might put us on probation, which is so we can learn to not make the same mistakes again. But most of the time it is just the opposite. Since His love for us is not based upon what we do or don't do, we can mess up and He will shower us with His favor and love.

Wondering why God would use us to see people get healed of conditions and pain they have battled for years, a friend asked me, "What did we do to deserve this?" Another friend answered that question today in a simple yet profound way, "We don't deserve it and we can't earn it. He just loves us." I was just showered with His favor after I did something stupid. What did I do to deserve it? Nothing. I think that God just wants me to know that He loves me regardless.

Bill Johnson says that God can win with any hand, even a pair of 2's. God is in the business of turning things around. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He didn't die for us before we had sinned the first time. He died for us after we had betrayed Him time and time again. Yet He still considered us to be His friend and not His foe. When we didn't deserve mercy, Christ died for our sins.

Many people think that God is teaching them a lesson by giving them sickness or disease. When offered prayer their response screams that they are thinking, "I deserve this! God is dealing with me!" They think that because God caught them speeding, He took the tires off their car so they are slowed down. They think that he broke their air conditioning permanently so that they must live in torment for the rest of their lives. They think that He drained their oil so that their engine would fail prematurely. God doesn't do any of that. The devil has come to steal, kill, and destroy but Jesus has come so that we may have life and have it to the full!

God is handing us the keys to our dream car and most of the time we do all we can to turn it down. We think that in order to be spiritual we must be in a constant state of suffering and not accept any gifts. I've got news for you: Jesus suffered so we don't have to. He died for our sins so that we don't have to. He paid the full price for it so that we don't have to. We don't deserve the favor and blessings we have experienced in life because we didn't do anything to earn it. But we don't have to worry because our Father has given it to us with no conditions - He simply loves us. Yes, He loves us.