It is so heartening to wake up in the wee hours of the morning and find a post that I needed to read today. I often think that God has a way of nudging us towards what we need to know, especially when in the throes of sadness, depression, loneliness – you name the angst. Then along comes a fellow Christian’s sharing of Scripture which shares having faith in God’s love and brings peace. Such peace eases the pain or suffering that one may be going through.
That happened for me when I read Raymond Candy’s post entitled Keys to the Kingdom: Receiving God’s Peace.
The entire essay is excellent and I encourage reading it all at his site. Here is an excerpt:
To have faith in God is to have faith in God’s love.
The Bible says that we did not choose God, but that God chose and called us. (John 15:16)
“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:44)
We would not have even wanted to come to God and be saved if He had not put it in our hearts to do so.
The Bible says that while we were in our mother’s womb He saw us and chose us. He ordained how we would look and he fashioned us in the way that would please Him. (Psalm 139)
When we were ready, He put it in our hearts to desire Him and come to Christ, and now that He has us nothing can separate us from His love.
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Rom. 8:35)
“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” (Rom. 8:37)
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,” (Rom. 8:38)
“Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:39)
God loves us no matter what!
God’s love is not based upon anything that we have or have not done.
God doesn’t love us because we read the Bible, attend Church, spend time in prayer, or give offerings. He’s pleased that we do these things, but that is not what causes Him to love us.
God doesn’t even love us because we have quit sinning and love Him, for the Bible says:
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8)
God loves us simply because we exist.
“We love him, because he first loved us.” (1John 4:19)
He loves us because we are. Nothing can change His love for us. That’s what perfect love is. Nothing can affect it. Nothing can alter it. It does not change.
And it’s not a general, “love for all” kind of love. It’s a personal, intimate kind of love.
Before Christ died on the cross, God’s love was a love for all mankind.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
It was because of His love for all men that He gave His son, but now that His son has been given, God’s love for us is not only perfect but also personal.
“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Matt. 10:30)
Like a father admiring his child sleeping in the crib, our Heavenly Father looks upon us daily and counts the hairs upon our heads. He knows exactly what we will need before we even need it, and has prepared it in advance.
“Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” (Matt. 6:8)
“And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24)
He who knows the ending from the beginning is never surprised or unprepared, but has already solved the problem before it even appears.
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1Cor. 10:13)
The first step in having God’s peace is to understand and believe in God’s perfect love for us, that nothing can change or alter it, and that it’s not based upon anything except for the fact that we are His creation.
Because of His love for us, God will do whatever it takes to preserve us. Knowing and believing this will drive away all fear from our hearts and will prepare us to be filled with the peace of God that passes all understanding.
When I look at my precious granddaughter, sleeping in her crib either at her home or the nursery I set up in our home, it’s an overwhelming feeling of love that is difficult to describe! Love, joy, peace, comfort, contentment, admiration, and the visions of her sweetness and how much she has grown in the 2 years, 3 mos. since she was born all bring tears to my eyes! I just can’t help it! That’s why I loved reading this paragraph:
Like a father admiring his child sleeping in the crib, our Heavenly Father looks upon us daily and counts the hairs upon our heads. He knows exactly what we will need before we even need it, and has prepared it in advance.
Yes! God knew what I needed at this particular time in my faith-filled journey in this life and He led me to Mr. Candy’s essay today.
Here is what I wrote right after reading the essay:
Trying to figure out why certain people do things to hurt one another can be a daunting task. Especially when someone who has shown steadfast love for you, but then suddenly does or says something completely out of character (especially when they claim to be a church attending born-again Christian), it can cause a huge amount of sorrow and grief; the kind of which is very difficult to overcome on your own. That is when God’s love comes in precisely because it is the ultimate love that no man or woman could ever give. God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ, is the kind of love that surpasses all understanding. It’s the type of love that never leaves you nor forsakes you. It is never superficial or dependent upon the whims of mankind, which can change and shift at any moment during our journey upon this earth.
Nope!
God is my forever beloved and He is mine! How do I claim to know this? Through God’s written Word, the Bible, and His Living Word, Jesus Christ!
These thoughts came to mind because of a struggle that I have been experiencing of late. It has gone on for over three months now and it had the power to cause much grief and potentially harm my day to day life and even my current walk with God. The details, at this moment in time, are not necessary to share here. I think that many people have suffered the same type of pain, grief, and sadness due to a person refusing to answer a plea for genuine forgiveness and reconciliation. But God is so good, that He doesn’t leave us alone in our grief! He often alerts us and sends other people with whom we love – including family members and friends – who offer condolences for the pain being inflicted by another and suffered by us; as well as the comfort of words and prayer which can lift us up out of our doldrums, fear, anxiety, pain and sadness. The people in our lives who do this are truly a God-send! And, that is the point of this post. If flawed, sin-infected (but now forgiven by Christ) individuals can do that for us, how much more can God Almighty’s perfect love and presence in our lives do for us?
Hat tip: As Seen Through The Eyes of Faith.
Talk Wisdom 