Lavishly Loved
If you are hurting from the pain of having lost someone recently, we care and want to talk to you.
Join us for our Daily Devotional Chat today in our Women’s Chatroom at 10:30 am EST.
Life had taken a few turns. Unexpected losses had quietly stacked up until she felt that her God must be on vacation somewhere else. Others seemed to be receiving blessing from God but she felt short changed these days.
She began to feel that she had moved from under God’s wing to under God’s thumb… and quite subtly her view of God began to change. She hardly noticed it was happening. And her Bible sat more often on the shelf.
Questions about faith? Bring your doubts
Why would I need faith?: Find some answers
Then she heard a verse from the Bible on a random snatch of a radio program while she was driving. God wanted her attention and the verse hit home in her heart.
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (I John 3:1).
The word “lavished” caught her imagination. Suddenly she realized that she had begun to doubt God’s love and his goodness toward her. A God that lavishes his love on his children is not a God who wants to pin you under his thumb! He is a God that can be counted on to lovingly take us through this journey of life. A God that lavishes us with his love is a God that can be trusted to guide us on our way and to nudge us back on track when we wander.
If your life has some unexpected bumps these day, don’t doubt God’s love and care for you. He will lovingly bring his principles of living to your attention so you can correct your course when necessary. His love will lead you to the very best for your life if you trust him through the fog. Knowing he lavishes you with his love will keep your heart soft and your heart attitude looking for his goodness. Doubting the goodness of God toward you can harden your heart and move you in a direction that will tempt you to live life according to your own wisdom…wisdom that will always be less than God’s wisdom for you.
Dear Heavenly Father, You know how easy it is for me to doubt You when I can’t see the path ahead of me clearly. Forgive me for letting my heart doubt You. Forgive me for my impatient nature. Thank you for reminding me that Your love for me is so great and that I am Your child. Show me the attitudes or actions that I have slipped into that don’t please you. I choose today to trust Your goodness toward me. Give me assurance in my heart that You are at work in my circumstances. By faith I will trust You to guide me in what to do. Thank you Father. I ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Questions: Describe some ways that God lavishes His love on you.
About the Author Gail Rodgers
To describe ‘some’ ways, would take forever and a day. To describe ‘the’ way is easy: ”awesome and always”
He laveshes His love one me every day when I wake up.
Dear Heather and Arlette, having a chronic illness, the doctor said I may not be able to have a child. We looked into adoption, but i would have been too old by the end of the process. Amazingly, i was able to have one baby. Since my teens, i have loved working with kids at church etc. and have kept on with this all along. Perhaps God has work for you in this area too. While it doesn’t earn an income, it is so fulfilling for me, and I pray, for you too. You are NOT useless in God’s eyes, dear sisters.
The word tells us the the Lord is the author and finisher of our faith and also that the thoughts and plans that He has towards us are of peace and not of evil and that daily He will load us with benefits. The Lord has such a great love for us but we being emotional beings are so hard pressed and drowing in our emotions and situations as well as our desires that we often are bought to the place of doubt. It is not God it is us. Daily He does lavish his love upon us. Lord thank you for loving me.
Lavishly loved by God – what a wonderful reminder, thanks Gail!
Heather,
I am so sorry. I won’t say that I know how you feel but maybe a bit close to it. It is my hope that perhaps you might feel less alone in my writing this. I am 40 and yearn for a child so much that I cannot even bear to watch diaper commercials. All of my friends have children, some young and some already grown. My husband will not consider adoption and is of the mind to let nature take or not take its course. I spent many years getting an education in a field that I love. I lost my job last June. There are days I feel utterly useless, without purpose or cause. There is so much else but I know He has already overcome this world. For me, it is a test of faith each every moment. He has a plan for us that was laid out before we were born. Maybe it has for us our hearts desires but maybe not. I cannot say it is easy or that it is not scary. What I can say is that He loves us so much and when I reach to Him I do feel His peace. He knows our hearts. He is there and He will guide us. It is to us to put our faith and trust in Him no matter how bleak our world here might be.I will pray for you and pray that His loving arms might comfort you and give you hope. I am not a bible scholar and am hard pressed to memorize scripture but one that I know gives me great comfort and covers about every situation ” Be still and know that I am God”. Much love to you, sister.
Im just not sure about this anymore. Until you spent money you dont have trying to have a baby for treatment that failed, until your husbands work takes a nose dive and you get so far behind in your bills you wait for shut off, until there is no way you can afford to adopt, until you approach 40 yrs old with no child in sight and everyone else around you is having 3-5 children and praising him for favor and his blessings, …Now tell me how Im under his wing and NOT his thumb.
Loving is the fruit that I struggle w/ the most, and I am especially drawn to these devotions which focus on God’s unconditional love. Thank you for sharing this. Sinful nature combats our love for one another every minute of the day, but when we focus on loving more like Jesus, then all of that goes away, b/c the light of God’s love will outshine the darkness in satin. Amen and Amen…Isn’t it wonderful to be LOVED like this! PTL!
great image of God and how we can be mislead to think about Him. Especially the under His thumb instead of under His wings description. Thanks for the post and writing from your heart.
I have learned that God loves me inspite myself. He doesn’t love me for what I do or don’t do but He loves me unconditionally.It is awesome to know that where ever I may go and whatever I may do it will never change the love that God has for me!Years ago I walked away from God and Hebrews 6:4 kept me away for a long time. How awesome to know now that NOTHING can seperate us from the love of God!