Influence: Spirit Rising by Jim Cymbala and the book of Jeremiah
God loves us. But God doesn't love everything that we love. We don't like to hear things like that because we would rather hear that God loves everything that we love. He laughs when we laugh, and cries when we cry. But that's not true. I don't believe that God cried like I cried after the Kansas Jayhawks lost to the Arizona Wildcats in the NCAA basketball tournament in 1997. If He did, it was probably because He couldn't believe how emotionally attached I was to a game where you shoot a ball through a hoop.
And the flip side of that is, when was the last time I cried for something God cried for? Have I ever been so cut to the heart over some of my own friends who are lost and going to Hell? Have I ever been so disturbed by the human trafficking, starvation, and violent genocide that goes on while I sit in my home struggling to find motivation to spend time with God?
Wow. No, God doesn't care for everything we care about. In 1 Peter 5:6-7, we read some important distinctions in understanding our hearts, and God's. "Humble yourselves under God's mighty hand, and he will lift you up in due time." It goes on, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." Our hearts are supposed to belong to God, which means we begin to be burdened for what burdens God. We're tricking ourselves and falling to the evil one if we believe that God is supposed to care about our cares.
No, He loves us. And He cares about us. So much so that He turns our desires and passions into His. Humble yourself first, and let God show you what He cares about in His world.
