Three Ways to Embrace God’s Love Throughout the Day
God loves you. If you’ve been a Christian for long or grown up in church, you’ve heard that in songs and sermons. It’s one of those phrases that we use so often that it can become very cliche and worn out. We get used to it.
When we don’t stop and think about what that actually means, it remains a theological, mental assent, but not a life changing truth and reality.
But, when we really embrace the truth of God’s unconditional love for us, it changes how we see ourselves, how we see others and how we approach life in general.
How do we do that? How do we embrace His love for us so that it changes us?
1. Meditate on verses that talk about God’s love for you.
Here are some verses to memorize:
“God is love.” 1 John 4:8b God IS love. Anything you thought was love before is a poor shadow, because God IS love. He embodies love, defines love.
“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
“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10
“But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” Psalm 86:15
There are many more, but these will make a good start. For tips on meditating on and memorizing Bible verses, read here.
2. Look back at your earthly father.
We tend to get our view of God, including a picture of His love for us, from our earthly father. Whether you grew up in a loving Christian home or with an abusive or absent father, I can guarantee one thing: your father wasn’t perfect - he couldn’t have been. In what ways did he show you truth about how God loves you versus untruth? Are there wrong beliefs about God that you have embraced because of your earthly father? Take some time to journal about your relationship with your father - how he responded to certain things, how affectionate (or not) he was with you.
If your father was unloving or distant, you may have to dwell a lot more on how God is love and will never turn you away. If your father abandoned you, you may need to dwell more on how God will never do that.
Regardless of how far your earthly father fell short, he did fall short and it’s important to acknowledge that and forgive him for it. Then move forward and embrace your Heavenly Father’s perfect love for you.
3. Recognize when you give in to fear and anxiety.
For me, one symptom of my forgetting God’s abundant love for me is when I start to give in to fear and anxiety. 1 John 4:18 says that “perfect love casts out fear”. If I am truly at home in God’s love for me, there really isn’t room for fear and anxiety. God is good, He loves me passionately and is in control. Much of my fear comes from feeling out of control but wanting to be in control. I’m really not in control over anything but myself and my choices.
So when my shoulders begin to tense so much that my shoulders almost touch my ears, I know it’s time to step back and embrace God’s love for me. When I’m constantly frustrated and annoyed, it’s time to take a deep breath and meditate on the verses that remind me what is true about God and how He feels about me.
It’s not a one time magic fix. Especially in certain seasons of life, it’s a lot of work to remind ourselves what is true and not give in to the messages being thrown at us all the time from our culture. But God’s Word is true, no matter what.
How about you? What helps you to embrace God’s unconditional love for you?