How do you view God? If asked, “Do you have a distorted view of God?” most likely you would promptly respond, “No, I do not have a distorted view of God. I love the Lord. I know He loves me. I trust Him. And I do not know what I would do without Him.” But if you were asked, “Have you worried this week?” More than likely you would have to confess, “Yes, I have.”
How can we know what we believe about God? The Bible teaches that our behaviors reveal our hearts. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus taught His disciples how to discern the difference between the real prophet of God and those who are deceivers.
BIBLE TRUTH
Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. (Matt. 7:15–20 NLT)
HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
What does your worry say you believe about God? The answer may consist of responses such as “I don’t believe God will take care of me”; “God does not have my best interests in mind”; “I do not trust that God will do things my way.” Responses such as these indicate you have distorted views of God that shape your understanding of how God will interact with you. As we live within our distorted views of God, our hearts are molded according to the likeness of our distortions, motivating us to live independently of God. Jesus teaches that behaviors reveal the soul as easily as a tree is known by its fruit. To obtain a clearer picture of how you view God, ask yourself this question: Based on my behavior, what do I believe about God?
PRAYER
Lord, I believe that what comes from inside defiles me. I don’t want evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness to come out from my heart. Help me to view these things as vile and recognize that they defile me. . . . (Mark 7:20–23)
(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)
We would love for you to POST A COMMENT about the insights you have received on your journey toward desperate dependency.
"As we live within our distorted views of God, our hearts are molded according to the likeness of our distortions, motivating us to live independently of God." What a powerful statement! Far too frequently, as has been the case in my life, we seek to change our behaviors so that they line up with what is "acceptable" Christian behavior. We focus on behavior because pride, I believe, keeps us from acknowledging a distorted view of God, or that we do not believe what we know to be true of God. Behavior modification is not miraculous. However, as Kirk has said, changing (i.e. healing by removing distortions and empowering belief in the truth) a human heart is quite possibly the greatest miracle that Jesus performs.
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