Love.. this is such a great subject for followers of Jesus.
Growing up I struggled with the feeling and idea of “love,” like I feel many of us have. I grew up in an abusive and chaotic environment, leading to little understanding of what “love” meant here on this earth. This led to feelings of inadequacy, feeling unworthy, unimportant and that I needed to achieve big things in order to feel and be loved. For example, I felt like I needed to get straight A’s in school or the lead role in my school play in order to feel noticed and appreciated by the people in my life that I looked up to. I made many poor decisions in relationships, both personal and professional due to these thoughts and what I believed to be truth. Have you ever felt this way? I feel like many of us can relate to these exact feelings, maybe even now.
I struggled with anxiety and depression for a long time, and one verse that helped me to overcome so much is when God instructs us to
1 Peter 5:7
“Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you“
this means that God loves us enough to take ALL of our burdens and worries and take them on as His own. He is there for us always:
Isaiah 41:13
“For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you“.
I don’t know if I truly understood what love was, until Jesus came into my life. God’s word says
Romans 8:39
“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.”
This meant to me, that no matter where we are on our life’s journey, whatever choices we’ve made or how other people may treat us, He is there. Our achievements and accomplishments are not what matters most to God. He loves us unconditionally and will always welcome us into His arms like a loving Father would do.
Guided Prayer
Father God In Heaven,
Thank you Lord for your unfailing love for us. Thank you for your Words, and for constantly reminding us that we are loved. We are enough. Help us to remember this truth no matter what life throws our way, or how other people treat us. Help us Lord to love through your eyes and with your heart, and to do our best to treat others with that same love. We know that there are others out there who desperately need to know you and feel your overwhelming love and peaceful presence. Please let your light shine through us so we may encourage others to know you.
Amen.
