John the disciple once said, "We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister" (1 John 4:19-21). God's love for us is very powerful. His love sustains us in moments of weariness and weakness. There are times, and even seasons, where we may feel abandoned and apart from His love, but even then, He pours out His love on us. I am learning that I cannot escape His love, but I can escape into His love. This world can suck the life out of us and even the strongest Christians need to retreat into the Father's arms for revival. It is in those moments that His love for me is being reciprocated back to Him and He reveals to me who He is on a deeper level. That is what John meant by, "We love because he first loved us." It is impossible to love without accepting the love He has for us first. Some may ask, "How do I feel His love for me?" If one really quieted their self and asked God to reveal His love, I believe His love would be quite overwhelming at that moment. Those moments He shares His love with us last more than just once. I can revisit those moments whenever there is pain or emptiness in my life. Nothing can separate us from God's love. Paul the apostle wrote, "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:37-39).
Love gives us the strength to persevere. I have noticed that people who are in love don't quit or give up as easily. I remember how true this was when I first fell in love with my wife. I wanted to give everything I had to love her. This has become a reality in my life once again, but now my love is being established in God. My family has gone through a tremendous amount of hardship and separation in the past three years and it would be so easy for me to fall into bitterness, but instead, I find it easy to forgive. It is tempting to give up but His love for me empowers me to persevere. My prayer life with God is refreshing in truth and this is a bi-product of a deeper loving relationship with Him. I constantly pray for healing for my wife and our children, and even though there is pain in the offering, there is also a peace that I feel as I hear my Father telling me He loves me. His love is real.
Brothers and sisters, ask God to reveal His love for you. Go to a quiet place and offer your time to Him. If you don't hear anything the first time, keep going back to that place. I guarantee you that God is madly in love with you. Let Him show you.
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13).
Love gives us the strength to persevere. I have noticed that people who are in love don't quit or give up as easily. I remember how true this was when I first fell in love with my wife. I wanted to give everything I had to love her. This has become a reality in my life once again, but now my love is being established in God. My family has gone through a tremendous amount of hardship and separation in the past three years and it would be so easy for me to fall into bitterness, but instead, I find it easy to forgive. It is tempting to give up but His love for me empowers me to persevere. My prayer life with God is refreshing in truth and this is a bi-product of a deeper loving relationship with Him. I constantly pray for healing for my wife and our children, and even though there is pain in the offering, there is also a peace that I feel as I hear my Father telling me He loves me. His love is real.
Brothers and sisters, ask God to reveal His love for you. Go to a quiet place and offer your time to Him. If you don't hear anything the first time, keep going back to that place. I guarantee you that God is madly in love with you. Let Him show you.
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13).
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