NO MATTER WHAT’S happening in our lives, we must know that we are perfectly loved by God. He loves us unconditionally.
No one else in our lives is like our Heavenly Father. People have ulterior motives and agendas. They aren’t always looking out for our good.
God is not manipulative or a puppet master. When He tells us or asks us to do something, it’s for our benefit. His only motive is love. He’s been to our future and back and knows more than we do.
That might be a revelation for some believers. He’s been around a lot longer, and He knows our future. If He tells us to go a certain way, we need to go. He’s trying to help us.
Through the years, I’ve had Rhema students in my office, especially those who are graduating. They’re panicking over what they’ll do after graduation. Some say, “God will make me go back home.”
I tell them, “If that’s God—and you want to pray and make sure it is—wouldn’t that be the best thing for you? Doesn’t He love you? Don’t you trust Him? If He’s telling you to go there, it’s for your good.”
We have to stay on God’s side! It’s a pretty simple concept. We must stay in agreement with Him and trust that He will lead us because He loves us.
AN EVERLASTING LOVE
Jeremiah 31:3 (NKJV) says, “The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.’ ” In this verse, Jeremiah is talking to a group of stiff-necked, rebellious, idol-worshipping Israelites. They were about to be carried into captivity because they wouldn’t obey God.
This was not a happy church group Jeremiah was talking to. These people were disobedient. But what did God say to them? “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”
If God loved a stiff-necked, rebellious, idol-worshipping crew like them with an everlasting love, how much does He love us?
People sometimes think God’s mad at them because they didn’t do this or that. Show me where it says that in the Word! God loves us no matter what we have or have not done. He loves us because He’s good, not because we are.
LOVE CHANGES US
God’s love changes us. First John 4:18 says our Father’s perfect love casts out all fear. It makes us bold.
One time God told me to pray for a lady in the grocery store who had an oxygen mask on. I was younger then, and I was chicken. I thought, “What if people see me? What if she doesn’t believe in this? What if I scare her?”
I told the Lord, “If I see her in the next aisle, I’ll pray for her.” I saw this lady in every aisle, and she was in front of me at the checkout stand! We were in the parking lot, and I still hadn’t prayed for her.
God asked, “Are you going to let her go home and spend Christmas not breathing, or are you going to pray for her?”
I finally prayed for her, but I was a chicken! I didn’t have a revelation of God’s love as I do now.
Today when I see someone in the grocery store and the Holy Spirit nudges me, I can’t let them go another minute without the healing power of God. His compassion—His love—rises up in me.
Galatians 5:6 says faith works by love. I like to say our faith works by knowing how much we’re loved. Knowing God loves us makes us stronger in our faith. We don’t wonder if God will answer our prayers. No! He loves us, so of course He will!
I used to think that love was just one of God’s topics. But He is love. All His blessings and benefits come because He loves us. Life is a lot sweeter when we know we are perfectly loved by Him.
Author
Karen Jensen Salisbury
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