Here’s a line from an all-too-recent journal entry.
Is God angry? He hates my sin. I know that without a doubt. But He doesn’t hate me. I also know that. As I write, I can smile a little bit.
And a little smile is a good thing.
I was struggling over a battle that I yield to all too often. Some of you know this type of battle. A recurring battle that wears us down. Keeps us mired in the mud of hopelessness. And hopeless feelings lead to feeling unloved. Even unloved by God, or especially unloved by God when those hopeless feelings result from our making wrong choices.
That’s why I had to smile when I was able to write “He doesn’t hate me. I know that.” My smile was my acknowledgement and acceptance of the truth that God loves me.
Accepting being loved by God is a significant victory.
Are you are in a similar place? So beat down by life and your choices that you question if God still loves you?
Well, consider this. You were first conceived of in the mind of God. He’s the One who formed you. He took the time to write down all the days of your life before you ever lived one of them. (Read Psalm 139, if you doubt any of this.) Would God have paid so much attention to you, long before you took your first breath, if He wasn’t fully committed to loving you all through your life?
He knew that you would not even begin to come close to being worthy of His love. But He made it possible for you to draw near anyway, through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus. (Read Romans 3: 21-26. These verses say it so much better than I can!) There was no other reason for God to sacrifice Jesus, if not for His love for you.
God has invested in your life from before time began. He continued that investment through His Son Jesus Christ. (Read Romans 3!) With so much invested in you (and in me), how can we doubt His love for us!
And yet we do doubt.
Even though we’ve hopefully made the choice to accept God’s plan of love through Jesus Christ, we still momentarily reject His love through our disobedient choices. Which leads to our wondering if He still loves us. But His love draws us back and reminds us that He’s never stopped loving us.
Which brings me back to my journal entry. Remembering that God loves me gives me reason to smile!
Are you smiling today?
Not even five minutes after my prayers to God this morning, I read your latest post and it was exactly what I needed. Thank you.
Jenny, your comment encourages me! Praise God for how He provides what we need, in unexpected places, through unknown people.
I hope that you are able to truly enjoy our Father’s love today! 🙂
Journaling my conversations with God has been a solid lifeline over the last decade, Mark. I feel heard, validated, loved.
And challenged to continue on, to reach higher, to love and obey Him deeper, and choose gratitude at every turn.
Thanks …