Peer No Pressure

She will pursue her lovers but not catch them; she will seek them but not find them. Then she will think I will go back to my former husband, for then it was better for me then. She does not recognize that it is I who gave her the grain, the new wine and the oil. I lavished silver and gold on her, for which they used for Baal. 

Hosea 1:7-8

Have you ever felt wronged or cheated? Have you ever been hurt by someone's disloyalty or unloving actions? God has too. And every second He loves us, He continues to risk further hurt. His love puts Him at risk because it is inevitable that we're all going to hurt Him. Yes, God is strong, but He feels things. Jesus taught about the vulnerable love of the Father when He died for us. Jesus reveals that true strength lies is the ability to be vulnerable, to love in risky ways. 

Keep in mind that vulnerability was His choice and He overcame the things done to Him. Vulnerability is for the courageous. 

We believers have all walked right past God with His arms wide open, looking for people who would meet our needs. And we've wondered what was wrong with us that others couldn't love us in ways we needed. We've put expectations and pressure on people to do things that they couldn't do, couldn't meet. But isn't that revealing of something about us, something that perhaps proves that we're more willing to be vulnerable with people than with God?

We were made to need community, yes. But God is ultimately the provider of all things, and we seem to miss that point by not going to Him first. It's so easy to forget all about God when we can find comfort in other humans or in our circumstances. We put our focus on this world and the things in it without considering that He is our life line, provider and the lover of our souls. He wants us to come to Him, to trust Him with our struggles and needs. But our natural human inclination is to look for people who will satisfy our needs instantly. When they do, we grow increasingly more entitled and impatient.  

It is a dangerous habit to chase after others to have our needs met. And it is one that makes us more resentful and harden our hearts. Truth be told, when we go to God first, we don't have be filled by anything or anyone else. We are then more fit to love like Jesus. People become enjoyable blessings and we want to bless them, not demand that they bless us. But when they do, we take joy in what they have to offer.  We don't need to beat them over the heads for something more. 

In my own experience, the more expectations there are the less grace there is. Anything that makes our hearts less like God's needs to be examined and changed. Any mindset that keeps us from going to God first, trusting Him most and staying tender before Him even when it is uncomfortable is one that threatens us in this life and the next. 

Imagine how much hurt we'd avoid if we would go to God before acting, speaking or responding. Our relationships benefit greatly when we're not expecting so much from others all the time. We would stop putting pressure on people to make us happy and start being a source of joy that gives back rather than taking all the time. And best of all, we would be as vulnerable with God as He is with us. We would be living out our purpose in communion with Him.