Apr 08
Today’s Truth
God is love.
1 John 4:8
Friend to Friend
My mom tells a story that when I was a toddler, I used to push my older brother and sister off my dad’s lap so I could cuddle with him all by myself. I still do this with my kids and husband. It might look different today, but my goal is the same: I want more love. And I’m not above pushing someone else out of the way to move myself forward.
My love hunger stumps me. I’ve been a Christian since I sat on a little plastic Sunday-school chair and learned Bible stories from a flannel-graph board. If I’m so into Jesus—and I promise you, I am—then why am I still needy?
Why is my heart such a love vacuum?
I long to be known, adored, and fully accepted.
I may not verbalize it often, but this desire plays on repeat in my internal dialogue.
Anybody else?
The fact of the matter is, I want more love than any human could ever give me. I often look to my husband, children, and friends to fill this ache that churns within me. When will I learn that my people can never fully satiate my longing for more?
I’m so thankful that the Bible reminds me of this intensely personal truth: God is my heavenly Father—my Abba—who loves me in the way I’ve always wanted to be loved.
Perfectly. All-sufficiently.
I do want the love of my people. And that’s okay. But I can’t expect imperfect human beings and relationships to satisfy my heart cravings. Only God can satisfy.
Only God.
The apostle Paul wrote the book of Ephesians to strengthen and encourage the believers in Ephesus. He wanted the people to “get” the magnitude of God’s love and prayed that the Lord would help them experience the reality of it. This is a portion of what Paul wrote:
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. (Eph. 3:17–19)
Paul associated the love of God with power. It’s almost as if he was saying, “If you can get this … if you can wrap your head and heart around the truth of just how much God loves you, it will blow you away with blessing. Your faith will pack a punch, and you’ll never be the same.”
Man! I sure like the sound of that, don’t you? Don’t you want to be “rooted and established” in God’s love? Don’t you want your awareness of His love to fill you “to the measure of all the fullness of God”?
Sign me up! I need it. I want it. I want it all.
Check this out. The New Testament part of Scripture was written primarily in Greek. The transliteration of the Greek word for rooted that’s used in this passage is rhizoō, which means “to cause to strike root, to strengthen with roots, to render firm, to fix, establish, cause a person or a thing to be thoroughly grounded.” Figuratively it means to “become stable.” So my personal summary is this: God’s love should stabilize my faith. My acceptance of His love for me will strengthen and “fix” me.
Mind. Blown.
God’s love is that thing I need the most. I want that strength. I want that stability. I want every blessing of His love in my life. His Word tells us the love-well of Jesus is wide, long, high, and deep. So today, I’ve decided to stop expecting others to meet my love needs and am instead asking God to help me be rooted and established in the fullness of His all-satisfying love. Join me?
Let’s Pray
Lord, Please help me to be rooted and established in Your love. Would you stabilize my faith and allow me to grasp the power of Your love for me?
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Read Psalm 27:1-14. Note some of the ways that God shows His love for us. Spend a few moments thanking God for these things.
More from the Girlfriends
Today’s devotion is an excerpt from the new book by Gwen Smith, I Want It ALL. Order yours today from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ChristianBook.com or your favorite retailer.
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Oh how I struggle with this! The word “invisible” frequently comes to mind. From the absent father, angry mother who married an abusive man, their deaths far too early, no surviving grandparents, two failed marriages and being a single mother of four children – I frequently feel my love bucket is sitting not only empty but growing brittle from dryness. I look at individuals in relationships holding hands and being held and wonder why it’s never my turn. The struggle is real! I want to grasp that God can be it all and that his fondness of me is enough. Thank you for the reminder.
Father, please let the truth of your fondness of me seep into every pore of my being and leave me feeling filled.
Dee
The word invisible has always been a part of my life. I grew up in a loving home with two parents that were high school sweethearts, one grandparent lived with us and the other two lived next store. To say the least , I was sheltered, controlled, yet at the same time loved from each person ~ in the way they express love. I experienced twice in my life unconditional love ~ my DAD and my maternal grandmother. My grandfather controlled with money, I lived in my brother’s shadow because he was the boy and I even had to make his bed and yes we are talking about in the 80’s. But my Grandfather ran the Hill as we called it….. my dad worked with a family business with his brother and dad and therefore control was ALWAYS shown by my grandfather. He was one of the most hard working men I have ever seen, but I rarely if ever remember him laughing. His words were children were to be seen and not heard….. WEll I came into this world with an opinion that was often spoken and not welcomed and a heart that is easily broken . I love hard and I hurt hard.
I married into an abusive relationship, now I am divorced which was a total disgrace in a small southern town and after the recent death of my father, I sit wondering where my life has gone and ALL the people that I tried to please my entire life ARE DEAD and I never even lived and searched out my plan.
Invisible ~ yet doing what they all told me to do ~
I have fallen in love with someone that I am told I will go straight to hell if I am with them. I see the those same type people holding hands, just looking at each other with love and respect. I have God’s love in my heart but I need a earthly PERSON….. does that make me not have FAITH??? in god’s love is all I need ??? You are right the struggle is real , I pray that I also feel the completeness and existence as a person no matter if I ever have an earthy mate again or not ~
Feeling Broken~ kirteena
This was exactly what I needed today. I have been struggling with this same issue, I think most of my adult life. I have tried filling that void with all the wrong things and have found out that it doesn’t work. Only Jesus can fill that. I fall more in love with Him every day.
Wow! This speaks to me in a major way! Thank you so much for this devotional! I struggle with this very issue. I am way too needy and demanding for human love. Too the point I fear I’ll push my husband away. All the while, what I really need to focus on daily is My Lord and Savior ‘ s love for me. Then I can accept the love I receive the love from humans gratefully and without being greedy and selfish for more and more.
Lord, Thank you for your unconditional, never ending, perfect love. Forgive me for times I forget how you love me and can truly completely. You are amazing Lord!
Thanks Gwen.How beautiful to hear that i’m not alone.Having a terrible dating life since i feel that the love offered is never enough for me.I crave and hunger for love and to feel it.How i pray to be fully immersed in God’s love which is what i need.