What God Wants from You -- Part 3
Okay, so where are we? We know that He wants us to give Him glory. We also know that He wants us to give Him our whole selves in true worship.
That means there is just one more thing left on His list, and it is this: God wants you to give Him ACCESS.
The Lord wants access to your life. Understand this. You cannot give God glory, and you cannot give God your life in true worship, unless you first give Him access. Let’s look at Romans 12:2. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
This verse has a ton of words and phrases that we would do well to focus on. We could easily spend several pages discussing what it means to not “copy the behavior and customs of this world.” We could go on and on about what it means to be transformed into a new person. Whole other books could be written on the power of changing your thought patterns or on understanding God’s will for your life.
Yet, I don’t want to focus on any of those things. Instead, I want to turn your attention to one small, three-letter word—L.E.T.
Everything starts when we let God in, when we allow Him access into every corner of our lives. If we want to experience all that God has for us, and if we want to truly give ourselves to Him this day and every day from this point forward.
Right before starting at my last pastorate, my family moved into a nice parsonage next door to the church. However, of all the keys I received, none fit the door that went from inside the garage into the house.
I can tell you that it gets a bit frustrating when you don’t have full access to your own home. And guess what? God feels the same way! We often deny God entry into His own creation. As we noted in Romans 11:36, God created us and made us to be His. Further, 1 Corinthians 6 makes it clear that the Lord fitted us together to be the temple that His Holy Spirit would dwell in.
Yet, often we don’t give Him the keys to enter, or we hand over a few of the keys but not all. Some doors we prefer to keep locked. “I don’t want you going in there, God. My thoughts are in there. I’m aware that some of my thoughts are not pure, but I like those thoughts. So keep out!”
“I don’t want you walking through that door, Lord. My attitudes are in there. Sometimes I know I have a bad attitude. But I think it’s justified from time to time, so I don’t want you touching that. I’m not apologizing to anyone for how I react to certain things.”
“Whoa, Father! This room is off-limits. That is where my entertainment choices are. I know I like to watch some things that are filled with stuff you disapprove of, but can’t a guy relax without worrying about whether or not you find a show acceptable?”
The list of rooms could go on and on.
Please understand that God is a gentleman. He is not going to kick any of those doors down. He’s not going to rush in, put you in a headlock, and demand, “Give me all the keys, or I’m going to keep you in this stinkin’ half-nelson for eternity!”
The Lord will never force you to give Him glory nor will He force you to give your life in true worship. You must allow Him access. You must let Him in.
Will you do that today?
