WHO LOVES YOU - Part 1 - The Love of the Father

God is head over heels in love with you (1 John 4: 8-11). God’s love is a spiritual, physical, mental and emotional “high”. Human love is merely a shadow of His love.

If the earth’s axis tilted a degree in any direction, if the stars fell from the sky, if a large solar storm erupted on the sun, if the oceans exceeded their boundaries, if animals no longer had an innate fear of man, if all the molten lava in the earth erupted at once, we would all die.

God’s hand, keeping the earth in perfect balance, keeps us all living and breathing and existing on planet earth. The natural order of the universe proves to us that God loves us.

God constantly draws my attention to the fact that He is touching me with evidences of His love through a variety of means. I call them God's Little Hugs.

When we repent of our sin, we realize that God actually chose us and adopted us as His beloved children. With God’s love, we do not need another person in our life in order to feel loved, affirmed and validated.

 

He reveals His love through things like a bird’s outstretched wings, a perfect rose, a lady bug, the shapes of the clouds, the waves of the sea, the seasons of the year, a red cardinal chirping through my open window and in the numbers on the clock.

Escaping a devastating calamity is another occasion when we feel the love of God. When we see His hand protecting us from sudden and sure destruction and danger, our hearts swell with incredible gratitude and love for God.

To realize that God actually intervened for you makes you feel so precious, cared about and loved. At times like these we feel His love surrounding us and keeping us safe.

His love flows through us and out of us to everyone He brings into contact with us. He restores us with His joy and upholds with His generous Spirit (Psalm 51:10-12).

Prayer:

Father God, when our heart is open to Your love, we can feel it pouring over us like a waterfall. We are drenched with Your continual love. Even the cells in our body are full of Your love.

I often feel like I am wrapped in a soft, fluffy blanket of Your love. Your love gives us such a sense of security. Unsurpassed peace and joy flood our soul – our mind, will and emotions. We give You all the glory and praise and depend on Your love and Spirit to fill and guide us through every moment of our life.

Thought for the Day:

All through the day, I have learned to watch for the unexpected ways that God tells me, "I love you!"

Inner Light

It is possible to know about the Lord and to walk in obedience to His precepts; yet still walk in darkness, because you are not Born Again by His Spirit (Isaiah 50:10). We can live with a mental understanding of God, without a personal relationship with Him. Even those who walk victoriously in God’s presence may lose their faith from time to time, especially if God suddenly interrupts His blessings as He did with Job. We think that God is mad at us or not sovereign after all.

When we gauge our spiritual connection by our outward circumstances, we often grow disheartened. This leads to wallowing in the darkness of depression and discouragement. However, this will only happen if we depend more upon the provision than the Provider. When we seek God’s supply rather than His presence. Actually, God’s blessings do not depend on our position with Him, because they come to the unjust as well as to the just (Matthew 5:44-45; Psalm 37).

However, only those who persevere to the end will receive the prize of the high calling of God (Matthew 24:13; Philippians 3:14). This has nothing to do with material blessings and everything to do with enjoying God’s presence in our life moment by moment throughout the day. We can live in a den of squalor or in a state of homelessness, and still have the full blessings of God on our life. Worldly success is no indication of God’s favor; even the vilest of human beings often live in the lap of luxury.

God’s blessings are spiritual and often overflow into the physical realm; however, earthly treasure is not an automatic outcome of living for Christ. Believers in third world countries are no less blessed than Americans living in the lap of luxury. In fact, they live the blessing of a much simpler life, unencumbered by the cares of this world. They need not toil or sweat to keep up with their neighbor or to have the best and the most, which money can buy.

Once we call out to God in our sinful state and completely surrender our life into His protection and provision, we can know without a doubt that He will supply all of our needs according to His abundant riches (Philippians 4:19). The next time God pulls the rug out from under you, and you land in an unbecoming pose, remember that you are always sheltered in the everlasting arms of God. There is no calamity, which can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39).

 

Prayer:
Father God, You give us both the desire and the strength to work out our own salvation (Philippians 2:12-13). You comfort and direct us through Your Spirit within and Your Word without. Your joy is our strength and You give us hope by Your presence in our life, even in the most discouraging of experiences. Help us to persevere until the end of our days, so that we can receive the crown of life (James 1:12).

Thought for the Day:
God leads us through the darkness by His inner Light within us. - John 8:12

 

Oil of Gladness

In some instances in life, we feel like we will never live again. It is hard to breathe and all we want to do is to sleep. The grief and devastation are so acute that they constantly prick our soul. We whither up inside and we desire nothing more than to crawl into a hole and die. We resent it when people reach out to us; yet, we also resent it when they fail to extend their sympathy and help. There is a real temptation to withdraw from life and to use our grief as an excuse. Nothing brings us joy, and all of our prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling and mock us.

God has a plan and purpose for your life in this very moment, as well as in all of the moments of your future. No person, place or thing can give us more joy than our relationship with Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:8). If they do, then they are idols in our life. If the lack of some person, place or thing robs you of the joy that Jesus provides by His presence in your life, then that is also an idol in your life. God is a jealous God, and He will not tolerate any idols before Him in our heart (Exodus 20:5, 34:14; Deuteronomy 6:15).

The goal is to come to the place in your walk with Him where you can honestly say, “God’s love is enough. Period.” We need nothing else this world has to offer, because we actually believe and live in the fact that God’s love is all we need. Allow God’s Spirit to pour His oil of gladness over your wounds to heal you (Isaiah 61:3). God has a future for you, which does not include the people, the job or the circumstances, which you lost. However, His future for you does include limitless hope and very special promises (Jeremiah 29:11).

Biblical Saints lost everything they owned and loved; yet, in their helpless state, God gave them the oil of gladness, because they loved righteousness and hated wickedness (Psalm 45:7). Jesus is our example. He loved righteousness and hated wickedness also, and He received from God the oil of gladness in His life as well (Hebrews 1:9). The original word for gladness in these texts means to jump for joy with exceeding excitement! Now that’s true happiness! God gives everyone the oil of gladness (Isaiah 61:3).

Are you in mourning today? Receive the oil of gladness from God’s Spirit within you. There is no calamity too great from which God’s Spirit cannot deliver you, if you willingly surrender your will, plans and expectation totally to Him and receive the plans that He has in store for you. I guarantee that it will be greater than anything you could ever even imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21). Do you hate wickedness and love righteousness? Then, receive the oil of gladness for your reward.

Prayer:

Father God, Jesus endured the cross because of the joy that You set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). You gave His disciples Your joy as well (Acts 13:52). Jesus shared Your truth with His disciples, so their joy would be full (John 15:11). We also receive joy as the fruit of Your Spirit. We thank You for this joy that transcends our circumstances and lot in life. It causes us to make melody in our heart to You (Ephesians 5:19). We serve you during our earthly life with gladness (Psalm 100:2); and with gladness and rejoicing we will enter Your presence when You are ready to call us home (Psalm 45:15). We look forward to dwelling with You in eternity.

Thought for the Day:
Serve the Lord and you will receive His oil of gladness, which will cause you to come before His presence with rejoicing. – Psalm 100:2

Feeling Empty Inside

Read: Ephesians 3:16-19

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” – 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

So many people today feel forsaken and lonely, disconnected from love and care. They have lost homes, loved ones, financial security, job longevity and friends they once held dear. They wander in virtual darkness, wondering what lurks just around the corner for them, and dreading it with every passing day (Ecclesiastes 2:20). They wonder if they will ever find happiness again and they despair of ever feeling whole once more. Satan convinces them that God no longer cares about them, and that they are lost in the darkness of their circumstances forever.

Why are we so discouraged? Why is our heart so utterly sad? The Psalmist repeatedly declares that if we put our hope in God, He will never let us down (Psalm 43:5a). We have no need to hope for something which we already have. Hope does sustain us, however, when we cannot see any way out or any success in our future (Romans 8:24).

If we put all of our hope in the Lord, and not on anything or anyone of this world, He will renew our strength. He will see to it that we take flight on wings like eagles; that we run, but do not grow weary; and even when we have to climb the steepest mountain, we will not faint (Isaiah 40:31).

When calamity falls upon us, and everything we try bears no fruit and every resource we once had fails, we can still be joyful in the Lord (Habakkuk 3:17-18). He never leaves us and He never fails (1 Kings 8:57). In His presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). This hope only comes through praising Him and recognizing Him as our Savior and God every waking moment (Psalm 43:5b).

We all connect with God differently. When you wake up in the morning, meet with God and walk in unity with Him all day long. Take a walk and pray, sing worship songs, listen to Christian music, spend time in nature, sit quietly in God’s presence in your prayer closet, read His Word or whatever helps you to feel closest to God. Only as you keep your mind focused on Him can He keep you in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3). The minute we take our mind off Him, negative emotions will flood our soul.

When you feel your peace slipping away, go to a quiet place and ask yourself why you feel as you do. Once you realized what robbed you of your joy, fix the issue. If you cannot fix it, then give it to God and trust Him to work it out for your good in His timing (Romans 8:28). Do not ever entertain negative emotions. They rob you of your joy, peace and hope, as well as your physical, emotional and mental well being.

Focus on the positive aspects of your life and thank God for those. He will provide all of your needs according to His riches in glory in His own time, not in your time. Praise Him for all things, even the bad things, each and every day. God inhabits our praises (Psalm 22:3). So, when we praise Him, His presence fills us to the fullest.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, fill us with Your presence and allow us to feel Your love flowing over us like a waterfall as we sit in Your presence. I pray that, as the source of all hope, you will fill us completely with joy and peace, simply because we trust in You. Help us to overflow with confident hope through the power of Your Holy Spirit. (Romans 5:13)

Thought for the Day:
The severest of trials cloaks a miracle just waiting for you to believe.