What God Wants

This is a casual, mental, and emotional reset with practical and scriptural tools that can help you discover what God wants for you, how God wants to help you live life, and what God's plan is for you.

These messages focus on discovering practical, scriptural, personal, and metaphysical ways of experiencing more of God in all aspects of life, including the good, the bad, and the challenging.

Welcome to Invite God In. I’m Teemaree.

Transcript

If you've ever wondered what God wants,

If you've ever wondered what God thinks about us or what God wants for us,

We're going to dive into it today.

Now this is found in Proverbs 3.

So if you have a Bible or if you'd like to look this up,

You always have,

I always share that information and you can take a look or you can just listen to the sound of my voice because this time I'm actually going to read a portion of it.

What's interesting is that Proverbs 3 is actually about our wellness.

So the whole portion of this particular proverb is about our wellness,

Like for us to have a good life and for us to feel like well and have things go well for us.

And so check this out.

It says,

My son,

Do not forget my teaching,

But keep my commands in your heart,

For they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you.

Bind them around your neck,

Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

And in all your ways,

Submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.

Do not be wise in your own eyes.

Fear the Lord and shun evil.

This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

Honor the Lord with your wealth,

With the firstfruits of all your crops.

Then your barns will be filled to overflowing,

And your vats will brim over with new wine.

My son,

Do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent His rebuke,

Because the Lord disciplines those He loves.

As a father,

The son He delights in.

Oh,

When I read this,

There were so many things that came to my mind.

The first thing that I'd love for us to check out,

I was like,

Okay,

This is for our wellness.

Hmm.

So God wants us to be well.

Now,

Depending on who you're listening to these days,

It doesn't always seem that way,

Does it?

There seems to be a lot of fire and brimstone and you're wrong and shun them and a lot of anxiety and angst and anger and yelling.

But what if we really felt that God wants us to be well?

Hmm.

How does that make you feel?

Just trying that on.

I know when I was going through a really,

Really big religious hurt and an angry point that I had with God,

I didn't believe that.

I was so hurt and angry at my own personal experience that the last thing that I would have ever thought was that God wanted me to be well.

So there are times in our lives where just that thought seems so far from the truth,

Whether it's something we're seeing outside or something we're going through.

How does that make you feel today?

God wants us to be well.

Wow.

It also goes on to say,

Keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity.

Hmm.

I don't know about you,

But throughout the many years in my seeking,

I didn't get a lot of messages about God wanting me to be prosperous.

Or,

Yeah,

I think that was the biggest one because peace,

I think we've heard that God gives us peace or brings us peace.

But I don't know.

How have you felt around this concept?

Do you feel that God wants you to be prosperous?

That God wants you to feel peace in your life,

In your day to day?

Wow.

When I think about the creator of the universe wanting that for me,

It makes me feel really good and it makes me feel really loved.

And because it isn't a popular message that I see,

I thought I wanted to share this with you.

Because maybe you need to hear this today.

Maybe your social media algorithm has been giving you a lot of the news going on.

Or maybe something has happened in your life where it's hard for you to imagine that God really wants you to be at peace and to be prospering and to be well.

So hopefully this encourages you.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Be sure to comment if there's something that you want to add to this conversation.

It says,

Let love and faithfulness never leave you.

Hmm.

Bind them around your neck.

I imagine it like a scarf.

Love and faithfulness.

That's another thing that sometimes we don't see modeled,

Especially with folks that are on big or have big platforms and are claiming to represent the will of God.

One of the things right now that we're experiencing is a lot of God talk that is very unpeaceful.

And so I offer this to you,

Beloved,

Because as we look in,

As we invite God in,

Then we have a true connection,

True power.

We have truth.

That's something that someone was feeding us.

And I always share this with you so you can find it in the Bible and you can find it in your favorite translation.

This is from Proverbs 3.

It says,

You will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

Now this is another really cool one.

Do you ever take on the thought that God wants you to have favor?

That God wants you to have favor,

Like not just favor with him,

Right?

Because we do hear about,

You know,

Being well and being good in the sight of the Lord.

Right.

But have you ever really taken on the thought that God wants you to have favor among other humans?

This is another love filled thought,

Love filled reality that we can open our perspective to,

That we can invite God into.

Hey,

Yeah.

What if I started my day feeling like God wants me to have favor today?

God wants me to be well.

God wants me to have peace.

God wants me to have love and kindness around my neck.

Not fighting,

Not correcting,

Not controlling,

Not reprimanding,

Not shunning.

What a beautiful feeling.

Again,

Let me know how you feel in the comments.

We go down a little bit further.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Now let's stop right here.

I don't know about you,

But I've definitely been a type A do it yourself kind of person.

I love to get things done.

I love to check things off.

I love to feel productive.

And I really actually do like to do things pretty quickly.

Now,

Sometimes that means I'm doing way too much.

And so whether you're like me or whether you're in a moment of overwhelm.

Or whether you're just wishing you had the fortitude to take your next steps.

What a delight to open up to the realization that the creator of the universe doesn't want you to figure it out on your own.

God doesn't want us to lean on our own understanding.

Can you imagine this?

How loving,

How amazing.

Most of us come from families where it's like,

We better learn that quick.

We better pick that up quick.

We better take care of our responsibilities.

We better figure it out.

Better make the right choice.

You better get that plan B.

I'm not blaming anyone.

This is just the world that we live in.

So imagine to really truly take in a thought of what if,

Well,

What if I don't have to figure everything out?

What if God really wants me to invite him in so that he can answer me,

So that he can take care of me?

How do you feel about this?

I know for me,

It feels very soothing and loving.

I hope that it feels the same way for you too.

Do not be wise in your own eyes.

Hmm.

Well.

Again,

If we've been looking outside of us at a lot of folks that have a lot of people following them right now,

I don't think we're getting that vibe.

We're getting a vibe that power,

I know everything.

It's my way or the highway.

These types of essences and energies.

And it can be tempting because there's big crowds following them and they claim to be associated with God.

But what if that's wrong?

Beloveds.

What if we're not supposed to think we're so wise and put together?

And it doesn't mean putting our brain on the shelf,

But what if we're supposed to just be humble?

You know,

It's an exciting thing to think about.

Sometimes a little scary,

If I'm 100% honest.

But it's a whole different thing.

And that's why I just had to share this with you.

We move down a little further.

Honor the Lord with your wealth,

With the first fruits of all your crops.

Now,

What does this talk about?

This talks about giving.

This talks about giving,

Which is another area right now.

I'm not sure where you're joining me from.

Please let me know in the comments.

But right now in the United States,

Giving.

I'm not saying everywhere.

There are lots of wonderful,

Loving people in the United States that want to give.

But there's a big current right now in our nation that is battling with the thought of giving.

How much to give?

Who deserves the give?

And again,

I'm not blaming anyone.

It's just about taking a look at what does God want?

Who does God call us to be?

If you're watching this right now on your Wednesday evening,

I know you're a person that is seeking,

That is loving,

That is open.

And so how exciting to know that we get to be giving.

Wow.

That means so many things.

That means we have enough to give.

That means we don't have to worry.

Tell me what you think.

I'm here for you.

The biggest thing,

One of the biggest things,

And I have to admit this,

Listen,

And this is not about,

This is always meant to be a conversation,

Beloved,

A true conversation where we all get to just check in.

Be honest.

I've been studying and seeking the Lord for a long time.

I've learned with different faiths.

I have various certifications.

I've read the Bible a few times,

But I don't have the 10 commandments memorized.

So when I was reading this and at the very top,

Again,

We're in Proverbs 3,

This is talking about wisdom,

Bestowing well-being and us having wellness and having a good life,

Right?

The very top,

It says,

My son,

Do not forget my teaching,

But keep my commands in your heart,

For they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity.

So I immediately was like,

Well,

What are the commands?

Now,

Of course I knew some of them,

You know,

Don't,

Don't kill,

Don't steal,

But I didn't know all 10.

So I figured I'd take a look and that's exactly what I did.

Now,

If you're curious about this and I'm telling you,

Beloved,

I invite you to do this because here's another thing that I've seen.

There are a lot of people pointing fingers,

Claiming to be associated with God,

With religion,

And they're saying a lot of do's and a lot of don'ts and a lot of shunning and a lot of this.

But what are the commands anyway?

Lucky for us,

They're actually listed in the Bible and we can look them up at any time.

So I went ahead and I was like,

Let me see,

Because I don't have all 10.

And this is clearly important for my wellbeing.

This is something for my wellbeing.

So let's see what God wants and what God has to say.

So we go into Exodus.

Exodus.

Okay.

This is Exodus chapter 20 verse two through 17.

Now this I will not read.

And only because when you go into your own Bible and you check this out for yourself,

You're going to see that each commandment is like a paragraph long,

Right?

But you'll find it there.

It's Exodus chapter 20 verse two through 17.

Now,

Essentially,

Okay.

Essentially what we're looking at here is we're looking at,

I am the Lord,

Your God don't have any other gods before me.

So it was like,

Okay,

Okay.

Do not make idols.

Hmm.

Okay.

Do not take the name of the Lord God in vain.

Okay.

Keep the Sabbath holy.

Okay.

Honor your father and your mother.

Okay.

Do not commit murder.

Okay.

Don't steal.

Okay.

Don't bear false witness.

Okay.

Do not covet what your neighbor has.

Hmm.

Okay.

Well,

I had to look this up in modern language,

Beloveds,

Because I wanted to really break this down.

Here's another tip for you.

When you're inviting God in in your own way and you're looking things up,

There are various translations in the Bible.

And so I started off with King James version.

Then I went to the NIV new international version,

And I still was like wanting to break it down because let's be honest,

There are certain times that we may see something and you're like,

Well,

I got that in the bag,

But you don't really know what it's about.

At least that's how it was for me.

So I took idols to mean like carving out idols and having statues and having things like that.

But really I'm going to read it to you in some modern language that I kind of put together and you tell me what you feel,

Please.

I'd love to hear from you in the comments.

I am the Lord your God don't have any other gods before me.

So that kind of loosely modern translated.

Okay.

That makes sense.

Like father I'm with you.

I'm not going to worship any other gods that are out there.

Okay.

I can see that.

Well,

Instead of making false idols when I really looked it up and what it could mean for us,

Don't idolize anything.

Whoa,

Friends.

Whoa.

Can we pop the brakes on this a minute?

Because in modern life,

Again,

Maybe you're in the clear,

But for me,

I was like,

Gosh,

Have I idolized my work?

Have I idolized chasing certain designations or certifications?

Have I idolized youth and beauty?

Have I,

Have I,

Have I,

Wow.

I was opened up to so many ways in modern life where this is kind of easy to do.

I mean,

Let's face it when you've got the beehive and the Swifties and all these things that is just kind of normal in our lives.

Is that what idolizing means?

It's fun to really explore this because when I think about it in the reverse way,

Which is another way that we can look at these commandments here,

We're used to the story of Moses coming down off of the mountain with the tablets.

And it really is this stern thing.

These are the things I command.

You got to do this.

At least it's the feeling.

But here,

Beloveds,

We're seeing that what God wants is for us to have a good,

Well,

Peaceful,

Prosperous,

Favor filled life.

And so what if these things are actually directives for us?

It's not because we're unworthy and we're bad and we better get it together,

But it's because God loves us so much,

So much that he is like,

Babe,

You don't even need to think twice about this.

Follow the path,

My love,

Follow the path that I give to you so you can be happy and healthy and favored by man and by me and safe and well and feeling good.

Oh my gosh.

It takes on a whole new tone.

And when I think about sometimes how I feel when I've been idolizing work or money or a certain vanity standard,

I never feel good.

But letting that go feels good.

Ah,

Amazing.

When we look at keeping the Sabbath holy,

Oh my gosh,

Can I just tell you,

What is the Sabbath?

Is that for Jewish people?

Is that for,

What is this?

Right?

But when I looked into it further and I modernized the language,

Rest on the seventh day of the week to keep the Sabbath holy and the Sabbath was created because God took a rest on the seventh day after he created everything.

So this is a chance for us to,

If we wished to remember that you can rest beloved,

To remember that you don't have to strive every minute of the day.

You don't have to be connected every moment.

Isn't that beautiful?

Honor your father and mother.

Well,

This can be tough too.

What if our mother and our father have done us wrong?

Left us.

There's a lot of stuff,

But just like with the idolizing,

When we let that go and we say,

You know,

I can honor this person.

I can,

It's like we're free.

It's like,

We're free.

Of course,

Don't kill.

Don't cheat on your spouse.

Adultery.

I don't know about you.

If you've ever cheated on anything,

A test,

A relationship,

It never feels good.

As we start to look at these commandments,

Directives,

Suggestions,

Can you see how each one really points to us having a wow.

Don't steal.

Don't.

This was another one.

The,

Um,

The,

The,

Uh,

False witness,

Right?

Well,

We never speak like that.

What exactly does that mean?

Don't lie about people with rumors and gossip.

Can I just keep it honest here?

One of my little favorite things to do is to look at the US Weekly magazine.

Okay.

I said it.

That's it.

It's out there.

I don't know why I love that magazine.

I get to see celebrity stuff.

I get to see style stuff.

But again,

How much of that is even true?

And is that harming to other people?

I recently spoke with you.

If you tuned into our just say no,

Um,

Message about a neighbor whom I just love so much,

But just sometimes has a lot more sharing than I want to be privy to.

Wow.

When I looked into that,

That whole bearing false witness and really putting it into a modern day language and how quickly we can slip into these types of habits.

I was blown away.

Because,

Yeah,

No one wants to be lied about,

Gossiped about.

And quite frankly,

I don't think that type of behavior feels good when we're in the moment of it.

Um,

I don't know.

You tell me.

Finally,

Don't covet what your neighbor has.

Let's put a spin on that in modern language.

And today with social media galore,

It's really easy to see what our friends and family and what celebrities and other people are doing.

And so this really boils down to don't crave what others have.

Wow.

How much goodness is here for us?

If we really are good with what we have,

Are good with who we are,

Are good with how we look and sound and what we wear.

I'm telling you,

Beloved,

This whole,

What does God want?

Deep dive is filled with loving,

Powerful,

Actual directives.

People say,

Well,

Life doesn't come with a manual,

But what if it does?

How exciting.

Beloveds have gone over and I apologize for that,

But this is just such a rich and phenomenal topic because it really gives us an opportunity to get to know God in a whole new way to get to invite God into our lives in a whole new way.

What if the perspective we've had about commandments and about people on podiums and big stages and with millions of followers and claiming to be God this and God that,

But feeling so filled with anxiety and hate and accusation and hypocrisy.

What if our hearts have been right this whole time?

And what if we finally have a real directive,

A way for us to live,

A way for us to receive,

Love,

Peace,

Care,

Joy,

Health,

Wellbeing.

I believe it is here.

And so I have a gift for you today in our invite God in messages.

I always provide an action point because the word of God,

Like any wonderful thing is only great when we put it into action.

And so there's always an opportunity for us to put this into action in our lives.

So this week I created a gift for you.

Okay.

And so I created three different phone wallpapers.

All right.

So that you can,

If you want to have it on your phone or to have it in your photo album,

You can take a look at the 10 commandments.

And I created three.

So the first one is the 10 commandments.

It says from God,

And it has the 10 commandments and it has from Jesus because Jesus has taught two commandments,

Right?

And not that he's overwriting what the word of God says,

But check this out.

It is the coolest thing ever.

I have to share.

And so thank you for sticking with me.

I know I've gone over,

But this is just too good.

Jesus says,

Love God with all your heart,

Soul,

And mind and love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Tell me when you hear this,

Do you see how those two absolutely take care of the 10?

Jesus isn't overriding what God says.

He's giving us an even simpler way to come into the peace and the love and the joy and the opportunity that God wants for us.

God wants you to be prosperous.

God wants you to feel loved.

God wants you to rest.

God wants you to know that you don't have to lean on your own understanding.

God wants you to count on him.

God wants you to focus on him and believe in him and be taken care of by him.

Oh my gosh.

So when we look at that,

It gives us an opportunity to see an easy way.

So you'll get to see one wallpaper that has the 10 and the two from Jesus.

One wallpaper that has the two from Jesus.

And then another wallpaper that has what Jesus said,

But in an affirmative tone,

It's like an affirmation.

And it's actually what I put on my phone.

So you could see it if you wish.

So every time I love God with my heart,

Soul,

And mind,

And I love my neighbor as myself.

Yes,

That's who I am.

Yes.

That's what I claim.

So beloved,

I just invite you to take this action point with you,

To take it with you into your heart.

And you know,

I offer this to you as a free gift.

But for now,

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

May the Lord make his face to shine upon you.

And may the Lord watch over you and give you his peace.

Amen.