1 JOHN 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
Despite my efforts to walk with God for many years, I have just recently begun to truly feel that God loves me.
My issue was that I continued placing my attention on myself rather than God.
Even though I delivered preaching about God's love, I was never quite certain that God accepted me for who I was. Instead, I imagined God reluctantly accepting me but not being very pleased with me.
I'm beginning to understand that God's love is completely dependent on Him and not on me at all. He loves me because He is naturally perfect love, but not because I am lovable.
It was difficult for me to trust God loved me as long as I believed my connection with Him and recognition by Him depended on how well I performed.
I was able to trust that God contained me and didn't wish me to burn in hell. I could think God would put up with me.
But I didn't think God was content with me. I didn't believe He was even slightly happy with me.
Have you ever been a parent? As a father, I can assure you that it is a huge joy!
No matter how many children you have, each one is extremely precious to you. You love them profoundly, which is hard to put into words.
I've made the decision to trust the Scripture. My heavenly Father.
He loves me because He is the greatest Father. Nothing else should be taken into account.
Why?
Because He claimed to be my Father, and all decent fathers love their children.
Another important factor for my belief in God's love for me is what He accomplished through Jesus, who was actually God manifested in the form of a human. He sacrified himself for me! To sacrify for someone is the ultimate act of love.
When you certainly trust that God loves you, your life will be greatly different. It's far difficult for any fear to scare you.
SAY THIS: I'm so happy I ultimately embraced the fact that God loves me.
