The Overwhelming Love of God

The past year or so, God has been showing me more and more how much He loves me and others.

I remember one time praying for someone that I honestly did not think very highly of. I was like "Okay, God. I want to pray for this person to come to know you... It seems impossible, but lead them to you..." Immediately I felt the Holy Spirit challenge me to love this person like He loves them. I felt Him say, "I love him/her. I loved them before they were ever born, I loved them when I was forming them in their mother's womb. If they had never said my name... I would still love them."

Even if you never say the name of Jesus... He still loves you.

What a thought- see, often, I get caught up in thinking that I must do this or that or be "perfect" in order to gain God's love and blessings on my life. However, that's not the case. In Psalm 139:13-18 it says "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you." God knew us before we were even born. Each one of our days was written in His book before one of them came to be.

The thought that God loves me no matter what- the fact that he loves you no matter what, is quite overwhelming.

I am always struck by stories of people coming to know Christ while being in prison or coming to know Christ after a very difficult life journey. I mean, think of Paul (who was Saul). He persecuted Christians and later became one of the greatest evangelists of all time. God greatly blessed Paul and his ministry, even though he was far from perfect.

We may not all have a dramatic story such as Paul's, however, all of us have a journey that we are currently on or have been on in the past. A journey that consists of a lot of hurt, pain, feelings of unworthiness, mistakes, etc. However, God loves YOU. He loves the journey that you are on. He wants you (and I do too!) to come to know Him, however, regardless, His love for you could not be greater. Think about it- God sent his one and only son to die on the cross for YOUR sins... for my sins. If he never did another thing for us, that would be enough.

Yes, there are great rewards for those who earnestly seek Him and obey Him (Hebrews 11:6), however, this doesn't mean He loves anyone more or less than anyone else. He loves us all uniquely- whether we ever accept His love or not.

Prayer: Dear God, THANK YOU. Thank you for the sacrifice of your son, Jesus. I am so grateful for the gift of salvation that comes only through the cross. I pray that everyone, including me, may grasp how deep, how high, and how wide Your love is for them. May we all start to grasp the depth of your love and rest in it. Amen.

Prayer of Salvation: Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior forever and ever. Amen!

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:14-21