Relying on God’s Love
Do you know how to do that?
Verse of the Day
“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”
Today’s Devotional
What does it mean to rely on something? Webster defines “rely” as: “to be dependent; to have confidence based on experience”. Am I dependent on God’s love for me? Do I have confidence in God’s love based on my experiences of it?
We easily forget things. But, in my experience, we remember things we write down. There have been studies that show that writing something out by hand “ boosts memory and the ability to retain and understand concepts.” I found many articles online about the benefits of handwriting over typing for retention and understanding. So if I am struggling to remember and therefore have confidence in the love of God, then maybe I should be writing down my evidence.
I love the wording of this verse. I cannot rely on something that I do not know. Have you ever met someone new and instantly trusted them with your bank account passwords, a key to your house and your deepest, darkest secrets? Of course not!!! That doesn’t make sense. (If you have done that, then maybe see a professional…) We have to know something, and I’d say know it well, to rely on it.
So how do I get to know the love God has for me? And how do I live in that love? The easy answer is to read the Bible. I am currently reading through the Old Testament, and I have to admit that it generates a lot of questions. But if I step away from the details, and just look at the overall theme and direction of the Bible, then my conclusion is that God loves each and every one of us. He loves us in a way that we cannot wrap our brains around. He loves us perfectly and sacrificially. He loves enough to give us a Bible to read about His love. He loves us enough to send Jesus, so that by our belief in Him we can be with God forever. That’s big love, folks.
I live in that love by continuing to remind my forgetful brain about God’s love everyday. And I ask for His guidance to choose actions that are loving instead of self-serving. Every. Single. Day. And when I mess up, which I do…a lot, I remind myself of the promise that His mercies are new every morning. If God has no condemnation for me because I believe in Jesus, then I can’t waste my time and attention by condemning myself. And when I do that, which I do…a lot, I start all over again. His love is big, His mercies are new, there is no condemnation. If I can live like that, then I will learn to know, rely upon and live in the love that God has for me.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Write down a time when you experienced God’s love.
What about God’s love is hard for you to grasp?
Share that with Him and ask for new evidence today that His love is worthy of your reliance.