Jul 04
Today’s Truth
God is love (1 John 4:8b NIV).
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. 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 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.
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” (Ephesians 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!
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 we 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, let’s decide to stop expecting others to meet our love needs and instead ask God to help us be rooted and established in the fullness of His all-satisfying love. Join me?
Let’s Pray
Dear 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
What are some of the ways God has shown His love for you?
Read Psalm 27:1-14. Write down a Scripture verse about love and apply it to your life.
More from the Girlfriends
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Oh, how I can relate to this devotion! Thank you so much for putting into words how I often feel. What a sweet reminder that our Heavenly Father can fill every empty spot in our hearts.
You have been a Christian since you sat on a plastic Sunday school chair and learned Bible stories from felt boards. Thank you. Thank you for having a “saved story” rather than a “born again” story. I am grateful for all of God’s children who have come to Him by being born again, but I was blessed to be born into God’s family through infant baptism. I have struggled and grown, and with adult choice and reasoning I have confirmed my faith. Too many people want to invalidate my faith because I don’t have a conversion story like they do. But I, like you, have known that Jesus loves me and that Jesus died so I can go to heaven since I was a child. I have grown to better understand the depth of this love and sacrifice but I have always known. Christ said we must have faith as a little child to be saved. Thank you for sharing your story of faith from youth.
Thank you. As a recovering addict, alcoholic and codependent I can relate. I’ve tried everything and everyone to fill that hole. But only God makes me whole. Long ago, He placed on my heart this prayer that continues to help me today: help me to accept _____ and forgive _____ because they’re not who I want or need them to be. Help me to accept they may never be. Help me forgive myself for still wanting them to give me what I need. Help me give these these things to myself through you.