Have you ever felt that you were a disappointment to God?
That’s how I felt not so long ago. I wanted to be pure, but I knew I wasn’t – I still struggled with lust and selfishness and pride.
The Westminster Confession says, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” But I couldn’t honestly say that I was enjoying God and delighting in the Lord. There’s a chapter in Katherine Ruonala’s wonderful book, Living in the Miraculous, that’s titled “Yummy Daddy time.” Well, I wasn’t having yummy daddy time, certainly not as a lifestyle.
I would do the father’s blessing over hundreds of people, many people wept as the Holy Spirit touched them, and I felt the “love rush” as He moved through me. But what about me? I didn’t always feel it for me.
I knew in my head that the Lord loved me, and I knew He loved the people I was ministering to, but did He like ME?
Then the Lord gave me a revelation – my photo was on His mantelpiece! He looks at it constantly, His thoughts about me are as numerous as the grains of sand (Ps. 139:17-18), He sings over me with joy (Zeph. 3:17). God enjoys me!
So, what about the sin, the flaws?
That’s where Michelangelo's story about sculpting David spoke to me. When he was asked how he created such a masterpiece he said, in effect, that he saw David in the marble; his job was to chip away everything that was wasn’t David. This was another revelation. God sees the Richard He envisaged before He knit me together in my mother’s womb. A unique Richard, unique fingerprints, unique voice print, and a unique assignment. I’m valuable to Him. He likes and loves and enjoys what He created.
But I was looking at the rubbish being chipped away, instead of who I was becoming. My sins were not the number one issue, they were just obstacles to the full manifestation of His dream for me. Does a father scold his child when they are learning to walk, and they fall over? Of course not. Only if they insist on being rebellious and refusing correction will the father intervene.
As I began to focus on who I was becoming rather than on the rubble, many of the things I struggled with began to lose their power and fade away. Everything changed; knowing that God enjoyed me enabled me to enjoy Him. And I do, like never before. My Christian walk is rock solid on this foundation.
Now here’s an interesting thing, my wife’s photo is on the mantelpiece too. If God focuses on who she’s becoming, who am I to criticise? Recently, she said to me that I was treating her differently – and I realised that I’d started seeing her the way God does.
Then what about a Christian brother or sister that you struggle to like? Remember their photos are there too. Let’s choose to enjoy them and encourage them to become what’s hidden in their marble.
Finally, let me tell you this: Your photo is on His mantelpiece too. God loves you, likes you, and enjoys you. He sees the masterpiece you are becoming, and He’s inviting you to see it too.
Blessings,
Richard Brunton
About the author: Richard Brunton jointly founded Colmar Brunton Research in 1981 and retired from it in 2013. Richard is an author of several books including The Awesome Power of Blessing. There are more than 3.5 million copies of this popular book in print, in multiple languages all around the world.
Richard has spoken at many PK events and his topic of blessing significantly captured men’s hearts resulting in thousands of men receiving blessing and in turn blessing their families, workplaces, communities, and nations.
Find out more about Richard Brunton’s book The Awesome Power of Blessing [here]
Watch PK videos featuring Richard Brunton sharing on receiving and giving blessing: