We’ve heard a lot about love this week. Maybe you love Valentine’s Day or maybe for one reason or another it depresses you, but I’ve got good news! Whether you have someone who you called Valentine this week or not, there is someone who loves you with a true love! He loves you just as you are, He says you are perfect. He is always there for you. He will fight for you. He shows you how to love others. Who is this mystery man?
Maybe you’ve guessed it by now, but I’m talking about Jesus. The only one who will never let us down. The only one who never changes. If you just rolled your eyes or let out a discouraged sigh, let me be honest with you…the enemy has told you lies and you’ve accepted them as truth. The enemy loves when we believe the wrong things about Jesus because that separates us from the one who frees us and shows us true love no matter what. Pause right now and ask Jesus to show you if you’ve accepted any lies as truths in your mind.
I love my husband, my girls, friends, & family, but I can’t ever fully depend on them alone. Why? Because we are all human, we have flaws, we mess up, we fail each other. As much as we try not to, we will disappoint one another or let each other down at some point. That’s why it’s so important to be anchored securely in Jesus. If we are truly relying on Him for everything and He is our number one priority as He should be, then we can show grace and understanding when the people around us mess up.
If we don’t, it sends us into a spin, we get angry with the other person and feel like they don’t truly love us. This gives the enemy an open door to convince you that this lie is true. Then, he will keep spinning more lies until you are convinced that you don’t matter and will never find true love. Thankfully, Jesus offers us peace and freedom from those lies. He asks us to give Him our burdens and learn how to love as He loves. He shows us how to love each other with true love in many places throughout the Bible. One example is in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 ESV.
It says, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
True love is possible and it’s really important! We all mess up every day, but we can pray, ask God to forgive us, and start over. Ask God to start showing you how much He loves you. Then, ask Him to help you love others through His strength, even when they aren’t easy to love. Usually, the people who are the most unkind are in need of love the most. They have held onto things and allowed bitterness to grow in their hearts. You can only give out what you have, so it’s very important to pay attention to the condition of your heart. Showing grace and kindness is a result of growing spiritually mature in Christ.
Once we are secure in His love for us, we can be patient and understanding when those around us mess up. We can also be more patient and understanding with ourselves. If we want to feel truly loved and secure, we have to let Jesus work on our hearts and minds. Let Him heal the wounds, show you how to forgive, and lay down any burdens that are hindering you. He offers true freedom, all we have to do is ask and we will feel those weights lifted off. If you need to talk to a trusted friend or a counselor there’s no shame in that, I urge you to do what it takes to free your heart and mind! I hope you feel truly loved this week and if you don’t, I hope you’ll turn to Jesus and let Him heal those hurts.
Love,
Christin
PS – Some amazing resources that have helped me are The Bible App – scripture and plans, The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman, Forgiving What You Can’t Forget by Lysa TerKeurst, You Are Loved by Sally Clarkson and Angela Perritt, Free to Be Me by Stasi Eldredge, Wild At Heart by John Eldredge, Captivating by Stasi Eldredge and John Eldredge, When Making Others Happy Is Making You Miserable by Karen Ehman, Get Out of Your Head by Jennie Allen, and Winning The War In Your Mind by Craig Groeschel. Also, check out our resource page for more suggestions!