I have often seen an image of a girl, sitting with a flower and plucking away the petals.
I’m sure you have seen it too?
“Does he love me?”
This question she asks herself. She wants the answer to be yes. She so badly wants the answer to be yes.
And if be no, her heart feels…broke. Hurt, confused, and crushed.
But what if, what if we could wake up every morning…every single morning and know we are loved? Instead of hoping to land on the petal that says, “he loves me,” there wouldn’t be any hoping involved. We would know.
Well, my friends. I am here to tell you some great, great news. You can.
You can go to be tonight and say, “He loves me.”
You can wake up tomorrow and say, “He loves me.”
Period.
Because He IS love.
Like a Good Father, who looks upon His child with love, God the Creator of this big awesome universe that not even the best scientist can explain or understand loves you. He loves you.
You can’t earn it and you can’t lose it.
That’s refreshing in so many ways.
That’s freeing in so many ways. He LOVES because He is LOVE.
Believer or not, we think He’s angry with us at times, don’t we? That we can’t measure up? That we can’t please Him, that we haven’t done enough of the good things and maybe we have done too much of the bad things.
I mean that’s how it works here on earth, right? People love us based on how we love them. People love us based on what we do for them. People don’t love us when we mess up. People reject us when we have done hurtful, foolish things.
And so naturally, we think that this God of the universe…well He would be the same way, right?
Thankfully, no.
He’s not like us. Not at all.
He’s better.
He gave His Son, Jesus, to be sacrificed so we could draw near to God and wash away the badness, the sin, the not good enough-ness. Because no matter how ‘good’ we are, on our own, we can never be good enough. Because He’s that good.
Well, maybe God hasn’t appeared to be ‘good’ to you in your life. So many sad things happen. Losing a family member, losing a baby, someone hurting you terribly, a broken family, wishes and dreams that have never been fulfilled, so many prayers unanswered.
I’m so, so sorry for heartache you face. For questions that you have that are without answers.
I don’t pretend to know those answers. But I do know God is good. He is the good in the middle of the bad.
My heart has been realizing how desperately I want to please Him. To earn His affection and admiration. His love.
And then I think of my earthly father. I know not everyone has a good one. But I thankfully do. And when he talks to me, he’s excited to talk to me. Love comes through his voice. Not because of things that I did or didn’t do today. He loves me because I am his daughter. A love that cannot be broken or purchased. He loves me because I am his.
And then I think of our Heavenly Father.
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:9-11
This Father is good. For those without a good earthly father, I am so, so sorry you haven’t had that in your life. It impact us so deeply, our fathers do. But I encourage you to get to know the Heavenly Father. He is good. He is the best Father we could ever imagine.
This song I have been reflecting on the last few months…it comes to my mind when I wake up in the middle of the night. It sings of His goodness. And I will admit it has taken me months to understand it. But now that I do, wow. My heart is full.
So, what would you do…how would you live if you knew you were loved? If you walked around and said,
“God loves Sarah.”
“God loves Jennifer.”
“God loves _______.”
Go ahead, put your name in there.
I am willing to say if we knew just how much He loved us, we wouldn’t worry so much about who didn’t love us. We wouldn’t be so concerned about the happenings in our own lives, but we could go out and touch the world and show them this love we know.
So, what would you do if you truly knew you were loved?
Pieces – By Amanda Cook
Unreserved, unrestrained
Your love is wild
Your love is wild for me
It isn’t shy, it’s unashamed
Your love is proud
To be seen with me
You don’t give Your heart in pieces
You don’t hide Yourself to tease us
Uncontrolled, uncontained
Your love is a fire
Burning bright for me
It’s not just a spark
It’s not just a flame
Your love is a light
That all the world will see
All the world will see
You don’t give Your heart in pieces
You don’t hide Yourself to tease us
Your love’s not fractured
It’s not a troubled mind
It isn’t anxious
It’s not the restless kind
Your love’s not passive
It’s never disengaged
It’s always present
It hangs on every word we say
Love keeps its promises
It keep its word
It honors what’s sacred
‘Cause its vows are good
Your love’s not broken
It’s not insecure
Your love’s not selfish
Your love is pure
You don’t give Your heart in pieces
You don’t hide Yourself to tease us