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December 08, 2020

Remembering God’s Love

December 08, 2020 by MANDY POST LOVE Worshiping God God's Image Burn out Spiritual wellness
Remembering God’s Love
"I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 'Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.”
John 17:23-24
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
John 14:16-17
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
1 John 4:9-10

Sometimes we need reminders of God’s love for us. Life, whether living globally or not, casts doubt and uncertainty on the truth of God’s love because love defined by the world is so contrary to the love of our Father. God’s love isn’t a romantic love made up of chemical flutterings of the heart. It isn’t conditional, dependent on our behavior. It isn’t limited as if it could ever dry up or crumple under adversity. It never changes, starting strong only to fizzle out over time. And it isn’t temporary, here today and gone tomorrow. 


God’s love existed before creation as He was eternally loving the Son and Holy Spirit. It was this eternal love in relationship, this perfect love in unity, that gave God reason to create. It was His pleasure and desire for His creation, meaning us, to experience this love. And creation did experience it until Satan planted seeds of doubt, and their hearts shifted. Their love turned away from the Lord and inward onto themselves. But, thankfully, God’s love wasn’t dependent on creation’s love towards Him. God’s love didn’t change when their hearts shifted. His love remained constant because the very nature of God’s love is overflowing to others and not inward focused. His love has always been selfless and generous, flowing from the Father to the Son and Holy Spirit for all eternity. 


Our love for God is meant to flow like this as well, but sin hinders this perfect unity and harmony. We won’t find this love in our family relationships, marriages, children, friendships, or even church, and we won’t always feel the love of our Father. Sin is all too much a part of our world to let that happen. But we can trust and know that this unconditional, unlimited, never changing, eternal love of God is real because He sent His Son to prove it and sealed our hearts with His Spirit, the very two who have known God’s overflowing love eternally and perfectly. Sometimes we just need our brains to remind our hearts of this.

Closing Prayer
We praise You, God, for your unconditional, unlimited, never changing, eternal love. Your love existed before we did, and we pray, Holy Spirit, help us know how dearly God loves us by filling our hearts with His love (Romans 5:5). Help us remember God’s amazing love when doubts of its existence seep into our hearts. Thank you, Jesus, for praying for us to know this love and the bond of unity it gives us with our triune God (John 17). In Your name we pray. Amen.
Resources
Book: Delighting in the Trinity by Michael Reeves This book changed my whole construct of God. I read it on my own and then in group discussion format several years ago and highly recommend it to this day. It gave me a picture of the overflowing fountain of God’s love. His love overflowing onto Jesus and the Holy Spirit and to me.
Song: Behold (Then Sings My Soul) by Hillsong After reading Delighting in the Trinity, I wanted to find a song worshiping the Trinity and came across this one. I pray it speaks to you as it does me.
Question for Reflection

When do you doubt God’s love for you? Or are there times in your life when you just don’t feel the love of God? What draws you back to God’s love? A song, certain Bible verse, fellowship, etc.?

Comments
Mandy Post
December 08, 2020

I found life as a new mom challenging after our second child was born. I felt overwhelmed with family and ministry responsibilities and the weight of expectations (others’ and my own) weighed on me. I struggled to read my Bible, let alone prepare a Sunday School lesson or Bible study. I was all dried up and empty. Quitting this global life and moving home with my mom sounded dreamy. I couldn’t feel God’s love for me or see any traces of it in my life. My thoughts were negative and critical, and I felt I was losing myself.
What brought me out of the slump was a required self-evaluation at a conference. I decided then and there to take my thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5) and turn them to things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). Boy, was this hard! Over the next year or more, I forced my mind to focus on God’s love which eventually filled up my heart. Journaling was a lifeline for me because it helped me lament, think on God’s love, and then praise God. My journal entries were sporadic (as it is when you end up adding a couple more kids to your crew!), but those pages were filled with evidence of God’s love.