Emotional Short Sale

Have you ever found yourself so lonely or needy that you settled for far less than what you knew God intended for you?

We live in a society that values relationships, well at least the appearance of relationships and for many that leaves us in a tricky place.

If you are relational like me, you judge your life by the quality and quantity of your relationships.

When they are not going well, or your needs are not being met there is temptation to go looking for love in all the wrong places.

Our satisfaction in life does not ultimately come from relationships with other people; it comes from being in relationship with the God who created us.

Unfortunately our culture tells us that if we are not in deeply satisfying personal relationships that there is something really wrong with us.

So rather than go to the source, we go looking to create relationship to meet our own needs and agendas.

This is a dangerous practice, as it almost always draws us away from God’s heart and true intimacy and into something that is secretive, selfish and sinful.

We become emotional prostitutes by looking to get our needs met by anyone who happens to walk by the door of our heart.

In our desperate state, we mistake quick satisfaction for true intimacy and authenticity.

This occurs when we solicit our souls for something or someone that makes us feel good in the moment of our need but later leaves us feeling morally bankrupt and cheap.

I’ve been there. As I shared in one of my last posts “You’re Not Alone”, I looked to have my needs met by people and found myself, hurt betrayed and lonely.

Friendships are good, and an important aspect of life in the Body of Christ but when they become our focus and our energy is turned toward having our needs met by people, we set ourselves up for a fall.

I am reminded of Gods intense desire not to share me with another in the lyrics to the song How He Loves by the David Crowder Band.

It starts out with this…

He is jealous for me, loves like a hurricane I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realize just how beautiful you are and how great your affections
Are for me.
And oh, how He loves us, oh,
Oh how He loves us, how He loves us oh.

You see, our God is jealous for us, for our heart and for our affections.
He does not take it well when we pursue emotional one-night stands.

He wants us to bring our needs, wants and desires to Him so that He can love us with the full and immeasurable weight of His mercy.

So before you give your heart away too quickly…consider the God of the universe wants to meet your emotional needs – He is waiting for us to offer our hearts to Him.

What are some things that woo your heart away from God in the attempt to get your emotional needs met? Would you drop me a comment and share it?

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Grace & Peace ~ Karen