Jesus said that when the prodigal son came home, he was welcomed back into his father’s house. He received a new robe, ate at his father’s table and had full forgiveness. But that didn’t make him an angel.

On the contrary, I believe the prodigal’s father experienced a lot of problems with him before it was all over. However, the one thing this son had to know was that he was secure in his father’s love. He had to know his father would bear with him, work with him and love him.

You cannot know God in fullness until you see Christ as God wants you to see him. Jesus said, “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9 NKJV). We must see Jesus, not as man teaches, but as the Spirit reveals him to us, as God wants us to see and know him.

Most of us are still dumb creatures looking to the future for fulfillment. We think some future event or change in our circumstances will bring us peace and joy. We say, “Just wait; my day is coming. Somehow, someday, somewhere…I don’t know what is out there for me, but it will happen.” We are like children waiting for Christmas and counting the days.

Those who truly know God have learned how to recognize his voice above all others. He wants you to be convinced that he desires to talk to you and tell you things you’ve never heard before.

The Lord recently showed me that I was still wavering about hearing his voice. Oh, I know that he speaks, but I doubted my ability to hear him. I kept “checking” the voice I heard, and when it seemed too mysterious, I thought, “This can’t be God. Besides, the devil and lying spirits and the flesh speak, too. Voices come at us all the time. How can I know it’s him?”

Scripture says of Israel, “Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel” (Psalm 78:41 NKJV). Israel turned away from God in unbelief. Likewise, I believe we limit God today with our doubts and unbelief.

We trust God in most areas of our lives, but our faith always has boundaries and limits. We all have at least one small area that we block off where we don’t really believe God will take care of us.

Jesus said, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9 NKJV). We must see Jesus not as man teaches, but as the Spirit reveals him to us, as God wants us to know and see him! We are to get God’s vision and testimony of Christ, then we will know God as he desires to be known!

The glory of God and the worthiness of his Son are involved in his dealings with us. Hence everything that could possibly stand in the way of our eternal blessedness has been disposed of in such a manner as to secure the divine glory and furnish a triumphant answer to every plea of the enemy.

Is it a question of trespass? He has forgiven us all trespasses.

Is it a question of sin? He has condemned sin at the cross and thus put it away.

Is it a question of guilt? It is cancelled by the blood of the cross.

For anyone to enjoy settled peace, he must cease from self and harken to God’s Word and rest without a single question on its pure, precious and everlasting record. God’s Word never changes. I change; my frame, my feelings, my experience, my circumstances change continually, but God’s Word is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Paul describes the love of God as wide, long, high and deep. “That you…may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19, NKJV).

I want to focus today on the depth of God’s love.

When the children of Israel went through times of testing, were they really supposed to express gratitude and thanksgiving in the middle of them? When they were surrounded and in a hopeless situation, did God really expect them to have that kind of reaction?

Yes, absolutely! That was the secret to getting out of their difficulty. You see, God wants something from all of us in our times of trouble. He wants us to offer him a sacrifice of thanksgiving.