The problem with most of our relationships and the reason they are such a mess is that we mix up who and what we are made for. The ultimate relationship God designed us to enjoy is a relationship with him. But sin separated us from his holy presence, so Jesus cleared the way through his death and resurrection.
Too often, instead of worshiping God and making that relationship our main goal, we worship people and make an idol of their thoughts, attitudes, and feelings toward us. We expect from others that which only God can fulfill. Maybe your moods rise and fall based on your standing with other people. When that happens, this good gift from God is twisted.
People will never give you all that you thirst and hunger for. But ours is a God who redeems, and he desires to make things straight in our relationships. Even though they are difficult and even though we twist them, he desires that we receive this gift and earn how to love the people he has given us.
Trillia Newbell is the author of Enjoy, Fear and Faith, and United. She is the director of community outreach for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. Excerpted from Enjoy by Trillia J. Newbell Copyright © 2016 Trillia J. Newbell. Excerpted by permission of Multnomah, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
