Do I Love Behavior?, or Do I Love People?

First off, Heavenly Father is not concerned with us "paying Him back." In the Book of Mormon, a prophet named Benjamin taught his people, "...if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole souls has power to possess, to that God who has created you...[and] if ye should serve Him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants" (Mosiah 2:20-21). The expectation to "pay back" what God has done for us is not part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even if I served every minute of every day as perfectly faithfully as possible, I could/would never repay Him, and He's not expecting me to "repay" Him. 

Yet, we are "[His] work and [His] glory" (Moses 1:39). Our worth is in who we are, not in what we do. We are children of God. He is not just focused on our behavior; He is focused on us. Us, actual members of His family. Knowing this truth frees us from focusing solely on behavioral things and allows us to focus on our actual relationship with Him. And as we come closer to Him, we will want to do all He asks. Certainly, because He wants us to be happy, He has given us special blessings called commandments. These provide knowledge about truths that if followed result in certain opportunities and benefits. God knows that if we ground our behavior in these truths we will be happy. But His perfect love for us is unaffected by our choices to fully accept His help or not. 

Interestingly, our love for Him deepens when we focus on Him and not on His behavior. Is our love for God conditional and based upon what we assume He is doing? Do we turn from Him when He does things differently than we would like? If so, it is so important to remember that, unlike us, His actions are always for our good. So, we can remember that He is always ultimately focused on our eternal happiness and joy. He wants us to become, which requires us to learn, which requires that we pass through hard times.

I don't think it can be stressed enough that in order to have true faith in God, one must come to know Him and of His perfect and constant attributes. Knowing that God is working for "the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39), or for our long term happiness, is crucial knowledge during times of confusion, frustration, or depression. He never, ever, ever, ever forgets us; we're the only ones who do any of the forgetting.