God Says It; I Believe It; That Settles It
Do you have difficulty receiving love? Are you struggling with something in your life? If you’re not sure where to turn, we have mentors that will pray with you.
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Many of us have a very hard time receiving love. Why is this? We feel we must earn it or we must deserve it. But God does not operate like that. God loves us not for what we do but for who we are– His beloved children. This is great news!
Meanwhile, many of us try so hard to earn love. Maybe we’ve been raised in a home where conditional love was practiced. “I won’t love you anymore if you do that,” keeps ringing in your ears. Maybe you’re in a marriage relationship where love is on again, off again. Maybe you’ve been betrayed by people who said they loved you.
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God’s love is very different. His love is unconditional. His love is everlasting. His love is not based on good behavior. Listen to what the Bible says:
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
We’ve sung, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so” , since we were little children, right? But how does love go from head knowledge to heart knowledge?
Let me suggest some practical steps:
– Write down Bible verses of God’s love on recipe cards; put them where you can see them – on the door of a kitchen cupboard and the bathroom mirror. Take the cards with you into the car. When you have a few moments, read the cards out loud, adding, “God says it, I believe it, and that settles it.” All the while your emotions may be screaming to the contrary. Don’t believe them! As you drop the seed of God’s word into your heart and mind, it will grow, and eventually your emotions will catch on and come along.
Father, I pray that I will be able to grasp the love of Christ more fully, for then I shall not be afraid. I want to pass on this love to all whom I meet today. Amen.
Questions: Are you struggling with receiving love? What does unconditional love really mean to you as it applies to your daily life?
About Helen Grace Lescheid
Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, The Bible’s #1 Promise, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog
this was a really great devotional and gave me so much to think about
Marilyn and Shirley, you said it so well. Dearest Karen, it is true, the Lord is so close to the broken in spirit. His salvation is truly a gift..and there is absolutely nothing we can do to merit it.
I trusted Jesus when I was in my early 20′s. I know that I trusted Him that dark night….but only in recent years….I allowed satan to steal my assurance… doubting and later believing I was lost again. It was satan’s lie, because the Word promises us that once we have believed and trusted Him, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. John 10:27-29 promises that once we have eternal life, by accepting His saving grace, turning from our sinful and worldly ways and trusting Him, that no one is able to pluck us out of our Father’s Hand. Not height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Karen, we can stand on that promise. When I began to doubt, I began to move away from God…..but Praise His Name, He never left me! I allowed myself to move from Him, which was sin, and then I felt very away from Him and and eventually questioned my salvation. I even got so far away from Him, I didn’t feel convicted of sin in my life. More and more, I began believing there was no hope for me…that I was lost forever. We can move away from Him for many reasons…..as I did….or we can simply be under attack of satan and believe his lies. Dear Karen, please know I do not insinuate that this is why you doubt. I do not….I can only share what happened in my life and encourage you to seek an a new or restored relationship with Him. I know how agonizing it can be….or was for me. I believe, if I had spent time with Him, reading His Word and praying…talking to Him, I would not have had those doubts. If I had walked intimately with Him, I do not believe I would have accepted satan’s lies. I understand how you feel and will be praying for you. You are so precious to Him and He desires an intimate relationship with all of us.
I remember praying and asking those to pray for me that I would desire to spend time with Him and desire to move back to Him. I had lost my desire to seek Him! The Lord used precious ones right here at this site to minister and pray for me. Our God, Our Lord and Savior answered, I confessed my sin of allowing satan’s lies to take hold of my heart and began truly to seek His Face. It is a journey and will be until He comes again or when this earthly body dies. What a Day that will be..when my Jesus, I will see, when He takes me by the hand and leads me to that promised Land! What A Day…Glorious Day…That Will Be!
Draw close to Him and He will draw close to you. You have come to a good place….to this devotional blog. This is a place that is safe to share our hearts, our fears, doubts and our joys. I join Marilyn and others in praying for you, Karen and pray that the Holy Spirit will draw you back into that intimate place in Him.
helen, thank you for this devotional.
from my early teens right up till age 48 I DID struggle in receiving love. it reflected in any relationship I had, with family and non family. I did a lot of running away from issues that were too painful to endure any longer. half way through my 48th year I came to Christ and accepted Him as my Savior, as I could no longer run anymore. I was tired and He saw this and knew that I was ready to come into the fold. what does unconditional love really mean to me today in my spiritual growth?–that I never have to feel inadequate again, that I am a good person, always was, and the Lord loves me for whom I was and am today. I know I can never out-gift God.
Karen, your broken spirit is precious to God! “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 5:3) We, my sweet sister, are ALL unworthy of God’s forgiveness and mercy, bringing nothing to the cross, but our brokenness! It is Jesus, Who has earned our entry into heaven for us, through His ultimate sacrifice, Who is worthy! And, when you accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, He appointed His righteousness unto you, not by anything you have done or will do, but by His great love and mercy! We could never do ‘enough’ to be worthy of God’s gift of salvation, but our praises and spirit of gratitude are blessings to Him! And, our longing to know Him better, by spending time in His Word and praying, and our efforts to follow His teaching and be obedient to His commands are our way of showing Him our love and gratitude! When the spirit of gratitude motivates us to please Him, He blesses us with joy and peace! God bless, dear one!
Precious Lord, we thank You for Your great love that offered us a place in eternity with You! Thank You for Your forgiveness and mercy, which we are so unworthy of! We praise You for providing us “The Way, The Truth, and The Life” for our salvation! We ask for Your Holy Spirit to minister to Karen, Lord! Reassure her of Your great love for her, of her worthiness in Jesus! Grant her Your peace, that she may be released from the bondage of insecurity, and be set free to live for You and serve You with joyful passion! Help her to realize that there is no measure of works that could satisfy You, apart from an intimate relationship with You! Fill her heart, Lord, with joy in her salvation, and protect her from Satan’s efforts to steal her sense of assurance. Remind her of Your abiding love and faithfulness, that her salvation is secure, and her name is written in Your Book of Life! No works can add to, or subtract from this! We ask these things in Your most holy Name, Jesus, Amen!
Thank you for this devotion. It has really touched my heart. I always have felt that I am not good enough. Sometimes I feel that I am not going to make it to heaven , I’m not good enough. I know that it’s only through the shed blood of Jesus that I can make it. Please pray for me. I just feel so unworthly.
Thank you, Shirley and Marilyn! Thank you Helen, for this devotional. This devotional has truly made me look at my life and how it has changed because of His unconditional love and those of you who have shown it so personally to me.
Marilyn, you are so right about unconditional love and forgiveness. Praise God, that since I realized His unconditional love for me, I have been able to forgive my parents as well as realize that they too, had problems with unconditional love. I still battle with self esteem, as many women do…but know the Lord is still working in that part of my life.
Oh God…..help us to realize that You love us without conditions..that we are worthy of Your love .
Lord, give us a love for ourselves. Help us to look at ourselves within and outwardly….even in the mirror, and see the same beauty that You see…. and not as the world sees or expects.
Forgive us, Lord, when we do not…and give us the strength to stand on Your Word and declare that we are pure, Holy and beautiful in Your sight….made in Your image, forgiven by grace and deserving salvation thru trusting You!
Thank You that we will live with You, forever, in Your Kingdom! Praise God!!
In Your Precious Name … Jesus!
Amen
Hi Shirley and Patti! :) I know that it wasn’t until I personally experienced God’s forgiveness and unconditional love, expressed through His gift of salvation, that I, too, through the power of His indwelling Spirit, could love unconditionally and forgive the unforgivable! What glorious freedom I felt when the burden of blame and resentment for unsatisfied needs was lifted, and God became my ‘soul’ provider! When the burden of meeting my needs was transferred to God, Who is able, I released my husband from that unfair responsibility, which allowed me to love him without expectations. Patti, I so understand the feelings of ‘not measuring up,’ as I, too, spent many years feeling similarly. But, it was God, Who redefined my worth, and set me free from the fear of rejection and/or the disappointed expectations of others. You are such a vibrant beam of light for the Lord — your love for Him is evident by your love for others! Thank you for your testimony of His faithfulness and love — may He continue to pour out His blessings upon you, precious sister and friend!
I believe I tried as a child as well as into my adult years…even recent years….to earn love. I always felt my parent’s love was conditional and believe in many ways it was. I never felt I was smart enough, pretty enough, athletic enough or talented enough. I always felt I fell short and truthfully, I believe I did in their eyes. I believe I have carried this on into relationships too…with feeling I fall short of my husband’s expectations and other family members.
Only this past year, have I truly realized the Lord’s unconditional love and it was through some ladies at this site. It was their unconditional love, that allowed me to even begin to understand the Lord’s love for me. I had been saved by His grace in my 20′s, but began to struggle with His continuing to love me when I sinned. I began to feel I had lost His love and couldn’t be forgiven.
The precious friends I have connected thru this ministry, helped me to understand His unconditional love. I have truly known that kind of love here and praise God, that I have been able to connect personally with several, who have shown and continue to show me that love.
His going to the cross for me…for my sin and the sin of the world… His Word that tells me of His grace…that He so freely gives to us when we turn from our sin and truly trust Him….. the kind of love that we do not merit or earn is unconditional love! Oh…what a love! Oh what a Savior!
To know that He has known everything about me…before I ever existed and that He loved me even then boggles my mind! My favorite scripture…I call it His love letter to us…Psalm 139, I read often…especially when I am feeling unlovely or unloved.
Dear Jesus….
Thank You for Your unconditional love, for only when we truly love ourselves, can we love others, unconditionally. Thank You for going to the cross for us…. Thank You for convicting me of my sin and for saving me. I praise You that we can meet here, minister and be ministered. Lord, reveal to those women here, who do not know Your unconditional love. Draw them to You. Bless them…bless us all, Lord, as we seek Your Face. Give us love for one another…that unconditional love that You give each one of us!
Thank You, Lord…for allowing us to bow before You…praise You, worship You and pray for each other….and thank You dear Jesus, for loving every little thing about each one of us!
In Jesus Name…Amen
Thank you Helen for such a very heart searching teaching. Love is so important and
needed in everybody lives. In the book of John,Jesus tell us as the Father has loved him,so he has loved us. We as believers are
instructed to follow Jesus example, just as he
follow his Father example, we are to love others as he (Jesus) has loved us. If this sound easy to do, then I will be the first one to
admitt that it is not easy . God would not ask us todo anything he first haven”t given us the
ability to accomplish. We must realize this great truth first that it takes more than our own human ability to accomplish this task. We
need the power of the Holy Spirit living on the
inside of us. We need to have an reborn spirit
on the inside of us. We also need the word of
God to instruct us. Then we need our will to line up with the will of God and be in cooper-
ation and agreement with his word. The bottom line is this just like all spiritual growth
it is a process that we have to grow through to get there. I have had a lot of struggles with
receiving love due to a lot of hurt and pain that
I experience in the past. when I met God and
received his son into my life and heart , I changed my heart changed. I finally was able
to know and experience true, unconditional.
eternal love! Wow! my life haven’t never been
the same again. Unconditional love to me means loving somebody as they are, and that
love doesn’t change one inch when you see the bad. Remember God loved us first and he
knew everything about us before we ever
existed, the good and the bad. I need the
power of God’s Spirit working on the inside of
me, and his word to remind me , this is what
helps me to keep striving to do his perfect will!
Thank you Helen once again for today’s de-
votional, I really needed to hear this truth and
be reminded of God’s word concerning it.