God Is Love

 “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” 1 John 4:16 ESV 


Have I come to know and to believe the love God has for me? 


Why is it so difficult for me to believe I am loved?


Is it enough for me to believe that Jesus gave Himself for me? That He took the punishment I deserved for my sins? That He says I am completely forgiven? 

What keeps me from grasping this promise and believing?

Is it fear? Is it because I have a low opinion of myself? I messed up too badly? How could He love someone like me after all I’ve done? 

But the Bible says, 

““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16 ESV

Am I not part of “the world”; am I not “whoever”? 

Then why the underlying fear of rejection? An overwhelming need, at times, for approval from others; validation? Can’t it be enough that God already approves of me? 

Or perhaps it’s a matter of surrendering my need to cling to old fears so I can accept and believe that I am truly loved? 

Not just head knowledge but in my heart of hearts to believe…

Isaiah 38:17 ESV

“Behold, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back.”

Believe, He has cast ALL my sins behind His back, because of His love for me.

Micah 7:19 ESV

“He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”

Believe, He has cast ALL my sins into the depth of the sea, because of His love for me.

And one final promise that has always given me hope…

John 1:12 ESV

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,”

I am a child of God; We ALL are; we are deeply loved by Our Father in Heaven. 

Just Believe 

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 19, 2025 at 12:56 PM

    This mornings message encouraged us to get alone and spend time with God whenever we doubt. Sounds like good advice.

    ReplyDelete

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