I have never been able to read these verses without tears: “The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. … But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD” (Gen. 6:6,8).
Favor with God saved the world, and it can save a city near you. I want to be like Noah, a friend of God, who protects the heart of God. Favor can change the mind of God. Wow! What a thought! Israel knew God’s acts, but Moses knew God’s ways.
Special Privileges
Friends have special privileges. John 15 says, “I no longer call you slaves because a slave does not know what the Father is doing. But I call you friends because all things I have heard from the father I make known to you.”
I want to know how God thinks so I can think like He does. I want to how to love like He does, feel like He does and help like He does. I don’t want to live by His rules, I want to live with Him and in Him and let Him live in me, through me and around me.
Hope to the Hopeless
I long to bring hope to the hopeless and make the joyless laugh! I really like to make people laugh—a lot. I think I grew up in so much pain that laughing became a door of hope for me. I like to make God laugh too! I want God to enjoy me.
I think I entertain Him. He told me He thinks I am funny. I think He is too! I find so much humor in the Bible. I think God wrote much of it with a smile. So much of the Bible would be understood differently if we could see the expression on His face as He dictated the book.
This is my goal in life: to love God as a Father and friend, and to learn how to love people like He does. Even people who are unlovely—like I was—those days are over for me. If you knew me you would love me! I do!
Do you want to be a friend of God? Tell me about it in the comments below. {eoa}
Kris Vallotton is the senior associate leader at Bethel Church in Redding, California, where he has served with Bill Johnson for three decades. He has written several books, including the best-selling The Supernatural Ways of Royalty and Heavy Rain.
For the original article, visit krisvallotton.com.
