1 John 4:16
16And we have known and believed the love that God has for us…
You may know that God cares for you and loves you, and that He demonstrated His love for you by dying on the cross for you, but do you believe it? It is one thing to know about the love that God has for you, but another thing to actually believe it in your heart.
It is one thing to know that the sun shines on us during the day. But it is another thing to believe that the sun is still shining even though we don’t feel its warmth and all we see are dark clouds. Sometimes we are slow in believing God’s love for us when we are going through a tough time. But God wants you to know and believe that He loves you in the midst of the deal falling through, when that job is slow in coming, when the boss is fault-finding or when your child still refuses to come home.
In the midst of the pain, He wants you to know and believe that He is wholly on your side defending and taking care of you. And if God, the most powerful being in the universe, is for you, can anyone or anything come against you successfully?
Perhaps you feel like you have messed up big time. God wants you to know and believe that though others may be angry with you, He will never be angry with you. Neither will He condemn you. The sum total of His anger against your sins fell upon Jesus at the cross. So He wants you to know and believe that He will never punish you because Jesus was punished in your place.
When you feel unworthy because you have just blown it for the umpteenth time, know and believe that your heavenly Father still offers you the gift of no condemnation. So come boldly to His throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace. (Hebrews 4:16)
My friend, know and believe that since He loved you and died for you while you were still a sinner (Romans 5:8) at your worst and ugliest, how much more is His love for you now that you are His beloved child and the righteousness of God in Christ! (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Thought For The Day
If God, the most powerful being in the universe, is for you, can anyone or anything come against you successfully?