How To Honor The Lord

The LORD's delight is in those who honor him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love. Psalm 147:11

For many years, I taught people that the way to honor the Lord was to do what He said - to obey Him. Obedience - that was the most important thing in the Christian life, as I saw it. But the problem was that, no matter how hard I tried and how sincere I was, I couldn't seem to be consistent in that area.

This verse from Psalms shows that the Lord is honored when we put our hope in His unfailing love. It isn't our obedience, our faith, or even our level of love for Him that honors Him most. It is by learning to rest in His unconditional, unfailing and unchanging love that He is most honored.

As we learn to accept His acceptance, the calm that comes over us is amazing. No more do we have to struggle to stay on God's good side. No longer do we condemn ourselves because we think we aren't doing enough to keep Him in a good mood toward us. We come to learn that our Father's love has nothing to do with how good we are, but has everything to do with how good He is.

Then, lo and behold, the realization of His unfailing love begins to transform us. We find ourselves being motivated to live a godly lifestyle because we want to behave, not because we think it's the right thing to do. We become increasingly free to relax and just be ourselves, knowing that He loves us no matter what. The love of God for us will mature us, motivate us and minister to us every day. Life increasingly becomes more and more about Him and not about us.

Do you want to honor the Lord? Then stop focusing on yourself and instead learn to rest in His unfailing love. He is delighted when you do that!

(Thanks to Ana Vincent, of Grace Walk Canada, for sharing this verse with me this week!)