Hallelujah
We are not alone
God really loves us
God really loves us
Hallelujah
Oh, praise, my soul
God really loves us
God really loves us
“God Really Loves Us” Crowder and Dante Bowe
“A father is a girl’s first love”.
I sure had a hatred for that phrase growing up. As a child, I didn’t have a relationship with my father. You can imagine the rejection a young girl feels growing up without her “first love”. I was so fortunate, though, to have my Uncle George step in as my father figure. From the moment my mom said she was pregnant with me, he took on the role of loving me as his own daughter. Everything you would imagine the perfect father to be, is everything that my Uncle has been and is to me. But somehow, with all the love and consistency he gave me growing up, I still couldn’t help but have an empty part of me. Where was my dad? Why didn’t he want to be involved with me? So many questions, doubt, sadness, and anger filled my mind growing up, because the one who was supposed to love me seemed like he couldn’t care less. I continuously had people telling me about the father I have in Jesus, but honestly? I never comprehended it. I didn’t even really believe it. It wasn’t until I hit college that I had a real personal encounter with God and it all clicked. It all made sense the more I started diving into His Word and read the words He spoke. I realized not only did I have someone step up and into my life to give me the love of an earthly father, but I had a Heavenly Father who has loved me long before I was even a thought.
February is known as the month of “love” and this can cause pain to people for many reasons. Maybe it’s the lack of a romantic relationship. Maybe it’s the lack of a parental relationship. Maybe it’s the lack of true friendships. And just maybe, it’s the lack of loving yourself, too. I want to first say I am sorry if anyone has made you feel as though you don’t deserve love. I am sorry if anyone has made you question your worth. You are more than worthy and deserving of all the love this world has to offer. But most importantly, you have a love from someone that is unwavering and unconditional. Don’t believe me? It says so throughout the Bible. I am married and loved out loud, but I still struggle during love month because of the healing I still have to continuously do, due to the absence of my father. So, during this month, God showed up extra. Here is what He has spoken to me about clinging to Him and reminding me of the never ending love I’ll forever have from Him.
Our earthly parents can forget us, but NEVER our Heavenly Father
I have written about this verse in a blog post before and I am sure to continue to mention it because of the sweet reminder it really is. Isaiah 49:15 reads,
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.“
Parents say the moment they look into their child’s eyes, there is a change. They will do absolutely anything and go up against anyone for their baby. They have an unexplainable love for them. The way they know what their child needs when they’re having a bad day. Even as immense as the love we imagine they have for us, they can fail us. They’re still human. BUT- how comforting is it to know that we have Someone who is always present, always available, and always loving.
The world around us will change but His love for us wont shift
Change is inevitable, you guys. We see everyday. The world around us is unstable. Things will change day to day and as the years go by. We all change as we age and experience life. Our likes and dislikes are constantly evolving and so are our relationships. But thank God for His love being unwavering! Isaiah 54:10 reminds us of this. It reads,
“‘For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.“
Things? Change. People? Change. Relationships? Change. God’s Love? Steadfast, stays the same.
He is our Father and loves us just as such
In Ephesians 1, Paul writes about the rights that we have through Christ as His children. In verse 5, Paul tells us that, “He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will,”. God chose us to become His family. His children! I mean, come on! What a joy it is to know that before creation, God chose to save us. When we hear the Word and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have been adopted as His own. Further down in the chapter at verse 11, he writes that we have obtained an inheritance. What does that sound like? A parent. Parents plan for one day, when the Lord calls them home, to leave their children with an inheritance to help them. It’s something you don’t necessarily work for, but it is given to you. Just like our parents want to make sure we are ok even after they aren’t here, God wants to set us up and bless us too when we are his children. I encourage you to dive deep into Ephesians to discover more about the promises we have as children of God. I recently studied this with the group of girls I mentor alongside my best friend, and God reminded me that He’s got me-always has and always will.
Nothing can ever separate us from his love
Many times, we see people can have conditional love. Parents may revoke their love if their child follows their own dreams instead of what the parents have laid out for them. Friends may only be friends under certain circumstances or benefits and once those shift, they can be gone. But GOD? We can’t be separated from His love. In Romans 8:38-39, Paul tells us,
"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."Trials and tribulations are sure to come. Being a Christian doesn’t exclude us from that. Jesus confirms this when He tells us in John 16 that we will have tribulations. But when we have faith in Jesus, those trials and tribulations are no match for what God can do and the peace that He can give us. At the end of the verse in John 16:33, He says, “But take heart; I have overcome the world”. He has overcome the world and all the trials we can and will face. They’re no match for how He can turn them around for our good. Those trials and tribulations can sometimes cause us to stumble in our faith and even then, God still loves us.
So guys, as we close out this February, my hope is that you cling to the love of your Heavenly Father, instead of the pain from earthly relationships. A whole month dedicated to love can be overwhelming. We are overstimulated with what seems to be the perfect rom-com love stories or the perfect fathers showing up for Valentine’s Day for their children. But I want to offer these verses and encourage you to study the Word and see what other verses stick out to you about the never failing, never wavering, love of God. I pray that the verses I listed above and what you seek on your own time with God, reminds you how loved and cared for you truly are, especially during the remainder of this month. There is a special feeling the Lord gives when we connect with His Word and understand truly His love for us. I hope that feeling covers you and you feel Jesus wrap His tender arms around you. As we close out the month of Love, I pray this post brought you some comfort in knowing the love you always had and will always have.
Don’t forget to give those who are here on earth who love you an extra hug or just a quick “I love ya” text. I challenge you to also go look in the mirror and say, “I love you!” to yourself, too. Remember that to give love, we also need to love ourselves too
It Will Be Well,
E
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