The Lord has impressed on me this powerful analogy using the example of my pet cats. For me the whole purpose for a cat’s existence is for me to lavish my love on them. I currently have 2 cats. One is named Kitty. He is absolutely beautiful, but stand-offish. The other is named Calli. She is a plain little Calico-Tabby mix we rescued from being a wild barn cat. We had Kitty first, and he has been the stereotypical cat. When we are sitting watching TV, and I want to snuggle with him, I will call to him, and he just sits across the room and looks at me. But Calli is super snuggly.
Recently, when Calli has crawled into my lap, as she snuggled and purred, it was as though the Lord was showing me that His love for me is like mine for my cats (only His love is immeasurably AWESOME, and we’re His adopted children, of course). The whole purpose for our existence is for God to lavish His love on us… and for us to love Him. He loves it when we draw near to Him and soak in His presence in intimate relationship.
Too many people are like Kitty. He longs to hold them and lavish His love on them, but they sit and look at God from a distance. They prefer to go their own way and do their own thing. This is like many Christians. At least they have come into the household of God and are having their needs met. They will approach God when they want to be fed, or have some other need.
Just like I give my cats a comfortable dwelling place, with perfect temperatures, a comfortable place to sleep, healthy, nutritious food, fresh clean water, fun toys to play with… basically everything I can do to make them happy, healthy and spoiled. He wants us to rest in the fact that He will provide everything we need, when we dwell in His presence. (Deuteronomy 28, Psalm 91)
In comparison to Kitty, my heart melts when Calli comes to me purring, wanting to snuggle! I long to hold her on my lap for long periods of time. She greets me every time I come in the door wanting to be picked up. I love to hold her against my ear when she’s purring. I look forward to spending time with her. It makes me want to spoil her even more than I already do. But when I pick Kitty up, he doesn’t purr. In fact, it’s like he’ll tolerate my affections for about 30 seconds, then he begins to struggle, wanting to be put down. I feel like he just wants me for food and a pooper scooper, when his litter box needs to be cleaned… And, of course, if he were ever to get sick.
People who have not come into a relationship with God (through salvation by faith in Jesus Christ) are like wild cats out in the harsh outdoor environment. When we found Calli, she was extremely ill. She had been born to a wild barn cat, and left to die near a place of business. She was crawling with fleas, ear mites and worms. It was 90 degrees in the shade at the time; she was dehydrated, and had scratched the fur off from around her ears. She was so sick, she had gone into shutting down, and refusing to eat. We took her home, prayed over her, bathed her, took her to the vet, and nursed her back to health. Wild cats have such a harsh life. It’s not fun having to find sustenance and survive harsh weather conditions, let alone surviving predators, pests, diseases, mean people, traffic, etc.! We’ve taken in strays before who sat in the window longing to go back outside. We would eventually let them be indoor/outdoor cats. But not until we had kept them inside long enough to nurse them back to health, and let them learn that this was now their new home. If we let them out too soon, they could end up running away. Too many Christians are like these cats. They didn’t grow in their relationship with the Lord, refused to let go of the world/past, and ran away as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Then they wonder why their life is so rough!
God wants us to return to our first love. He wants to bring us in from the harshness of the world, clean us up, and lavish us with His love. That’s what revival is all about! Coming back to the Lord can be a messy process for a while, just like when I brought Calli home, it was uncomfortable for her when I had to bathe her, take her to the vet, and clean the mites out of her ears, force antibiotics and deworming pills down her throat, give her shots to rehydrate and vaccinate her, etc. But when revival is centered around soaking in the manifested glory as we go into deep places of worship, all those things happen quickly and easily as we experience God wrapping us in His love, comforting us, healing us, and revealing how much He values intimate time with us. As we begin to grasp how much God treasures us, and longs to lavish us richly with His love and everything we could want or need, it is overwhelming and life transforming!
I long for every human being to experience how awesome it is to live in intimate relationship with the Creator of the universes! It is impossible to describe how wonderful it is to rest in the fact that you’re in good hands, He will take good care of you, and you can simply trust Him!
God loves you and that He has a wonderful plan for your life. If you’ve never heard that, then you need to know that the Bible says. It says “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” and “for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The Bible also says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” And you’re a “whosoever” right? Of course you are; we all are.
I’m going to say a quick prayer for you: Lord, I ask You to bless each person who reads this with a long and healthy life. Jesus, I ask You to wrap Your loving arms around them right now. Make Yourself so real to them. Do a quick work in their heart. If they have never received You as their Lord and Savior, I pray that they do so right now.
If you would like to receive the gift that God has for you today, pray this with all of your heart:
Dear Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive me of my sin. Set me free. Jesus, thank You that You died for me. I believe that God raised You from the dead so I can have eternal life. Come and be my personal Lord and Savior. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, the peace of God, and the joy of the Lord. Give me a hunger for the things of God, a passion to reach the lost, and boldness to share the good news of Jesus with others. I’m saved. I’m born again. I’m forgiven and I’m on my way to heaven because I have Jesus in my heart. Amen Thank You Jesus!
When you asked Jesus to come into your heart and to forgive you, He heard you and did so! All of your sins are now forgiven! Always remember to run to God and not from God because He loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. You can write: ”I got saved!” on your calendar today! Be sure to share this with your family and friends so they can get saved too, because you don’t want to go to heaven without them!
If you’re a Christian who has wandered away from the Lord… Jesus gave His all for you. Let me encourage you to give your all for Him. If you would like to have a closer relationship with God today, say this after me with all of your heart, out loud: Dear Lord Jesus, come into my heart afresh. Forgive me of my sin. Wash me and cleanse me. Set me free. Thank You, Jesus, for dying on the cross for me. I believe You are risen from the dead so I can have eternal life. Jesus, come and be Lord of every area of my life. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Lord, show me Your good plan for my life. Give me a passion for the lost, a hunger for the things of God, and boldness to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others. Amen
I want to encourage you to find a local church, and press in to the intimate relationship that God longs to have with you. Please allow the Holy Spirit to take you into a place where God can lavish you with His love, meet all of your needs, and spoil you!Then go out and bring others into that awesome place of relationship with Him!
By Gloria Garner
www.facebook.com/GloryAwakeningMinistry