When I became a mother, I experienced essentially the most powerful love I even have ever felt for an additional human being. I used to be reminded of this recently on the birth of my second granddaughter. As soon as I saw her precious face, I used to be overwhelmed with an incredible love for this sweet baby I had only known for mere minutes. There’s something about being a grandparent that seems to multiply the love. I do know I loved my very own children just as much, however the love for a grandchild is just so special. I’ve heard it explained that the rationale we feel what looks as if an additional measure of affection for our grandchildren is because we’re seeing our own children in them.
I believe we are able to draw a comparison from this human experience to that of our Heavenly Father. We read in Genesis 1:27, “So God created mankind in his own image, within the image of God he created them; female and male he created them.” When God looks at us, He sees His own image reflected back to Him. Not only that, when He looks at His children, He sees Jesus’ righteousness, for we’re clothed in white through the blood of the Lamb. It’s so interesting how our youngsters and our grandchildren reflect the DNA that makes them seem like us or our youngsters. Just like God cannot hate Himself, we as parents love our youngsters unconditionally with this built-in reflection that bonds us to them like no other relationship.
The Lord gives us human experiences to higher understand His love for us. We love imperfectly, but God loves perfectly. Some of us can have had a nasty experience with our earthly parents that clouds our understanding of our Heavenly Father’s love for us. Others of us who’ve had primarily good experiences with our moms and dads find it easier to attract parallels to the love of the Father.
Whether or bad foundation with our parents, I believe all of us, in some unspecified time in the future or one other, have had trouble accepting God’s love. We feel as if He is mad at us or that we should not worthy of His love.
“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, in order that we may trust within the day of judgment; because as He is, so are also we on this world. There is not any fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears will not be perfected in love.” 1 John 4:15-18
Let’s take a have a look at the above passage to search out encouragement for those days when we’ve trouble accepting God’s love:
Is God Mad at Me?
As believers, we’ve received the Holy Spirit whose still, small voice directs us in the way in which we must always go. However, there are occasions when sin’s voice is louder. We either drown out or ignore the gentle promptings of the Holy Spirit to walk away from sin. Because we’re children of God, conviction will set in, and we’ll feel guilt over our transgression. The rub is how we reply to that “guilt.” Do we would like to run and conceal from God or do we would like to grasp to God?
Did you realize that the name Satan means “accuser”? When we’re accused of something, if we’re indeed guilty, we should want to hide from that accusation. Guilt that elicits this kind of response is greater than likely coming from Satan. He desires to draw a wedge between us and God. However, once we feel conviction over something, it’s coming from a spot inside. In our case, the Holy Spirit is prompting us and directing us back to God.
I remember when my children were small, there have been days when one in all them exasperated me to the tip of my rope. Even after such a day, once I would go in to ascertain on them after they fell asleep, I’d see their sweet sleeping faces and be full of such love for them that every one the frustration of the day would just melt away. And that is coming from an imperfect mother! How way more does God love us once we mess up big?! He won’t hold our sins against us. “As far because the east is from the west, to this point does he remove our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). Instead, He convicts us to attract us back to Himself. God will not be pushing us away; He is pulling us into His loving embrace.
The next time you are feeling as if God is mad at you and you’re having trouble accepting His love, put into perspective where that thought is coming from, take it captive to the obedience of Christ, and return to the love of the Father you never must fear.
Do I Even Deserve Answered Prayer?
Do you ever hold back on what you pray for because you are feeling such as you don’t deserve it? Or do you pray for something and since of your life experience, you assume the reply might be no? That’s a slippery slope of negative considering… “And without faith it’s unattainable to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must consider that he exists and that he rewards those that seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Do you see that? “He rewards those that seek Him,” but we must hold fast to that belief and never allow circumstances to deprave what we all know to be Truth.
“Since then we’ve a terrific high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, allow us to hold fast our confession. For we would not have a high priest who’s unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we’re, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to assist in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16
We should never allow the thought that we do not deserve our prayers to be answered to enter our minds. Jesus knows and understands our weaknesses and can reward our confidence in Him with answered prayer.
What Do I Do When I’m Still Afraid?
“Perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears will not be perfected in love” (1 John 4:18b). From this recovering “worry wart,” I can inform you this verse convicts me! Maybe a few of you possibly can relate. When we discover ourselves worrying about our circumstances, we should not trusting God’s love for us. He is sovereign over all of our circumstances, even the difficult ones. He has an ideal plan for us, and He will use those situations in our lives that cause heartache, frustration, and even fear to indicate us His perfect love.
The secret’s to not fear His will. God’s will for us may sometimes feel like punishment, but then He eventually reveals to us how He was actually rescuing us and redirecting us to something higher. “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Hebrews 12:6). Again, we’d like to reframe our considering. God’s discipline comes from a spot of affection. Whereas the word “punishment” has a way more punitive feel to it. God will not be “inflicting” punishment upon us, He is allowing His discipline to mold us into Christ-like behavior.
We must keep in mind that even in scary situations, God loves us with an everlasting love. He will not be going to ignore us. We are all the time on His radar and He all the time has His covering of protection over us. Jesus died in order that we not only could bring Him glory here on earth but in order that we could someday live with Him in heaven. But God isn’t waiting until then to be with you. He is with you each second of every single day. If God were a harsh father to His beloved children, He could be a hypocrite. Instead, He loves us perfectly and thru Jesus’ death has perfected us.
Let us take heed and stop being afraid in order that we may be perfected in God’s love.
The whole message of the Bible is God’s love for us. If that is the central theme of the Word of God, and we consider the Bible to be true, we must accept that truth in our own lives walk with full confidence within the love God has for us, and permit God’s like to forged out fear.
May all of us accept the amazing love of the Father, knowing that He sent His Son to die for us; He hears our prayers and answers them; and we never must fear God.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Nata Bene
