Have you ever wondered if God still loves you?
Has there ever been a time in your life when you didn’t really feel that God loved you? I certainly have. But over many years I have come, not just to accept and believe that God loves me, but to know in the depths of my heart that He loves me, no matter what the situation or circumstance might be. And God still loves you too.
It’s as simple as that. Why do we make it so complicated?
In our minds, we toss and turn between all the things we have done wrong and decide that God could not possibly love us anymore.
Or maybe we just feel unworthy. It’s not just about the mistakes we’ve made. It’s the things we haven’t done that we should have.
Over many years, I’ve been well acquainted with the sins of both commission and omission. The list is pretty long of things I’ve done wrong in my life. And the list of things that I should have done but didn’t is pretty long too. Now, in all fairness, I have done a whole lot right and not done some things I shouldn’t have, but for a long time all the good I did didn’t seem to outweigh the bad.
It’s been a slow ripening process for me, to really feel God’s love for me.
Hope in the Bible
I would read things in the Bible that would give me hope like
The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. Jeremiah 31:3 NKJV
I usually didn’t have any trouble telling others that God loved them. And I could intellectually accept the fact that God loved me. That was His job. He had to. But I didn’t usually feel God’s love unless I was doing everything I was supposed to.
Well, actually, that’s not true. I just remembered my freshman year in college when I was taking a Calculus test and went completely blank. I’d had Calculus in high school and this college class was not hard for me because I already knew the material. I’d been making very high grades. But somehow, on this last test of the semester, I completely forgot how to work out problems I had done in high school, and even the week before.
It was like a bad dream. I couldn’t remember simple procedures for solving some pretty basic Calculus problems. I left the class totally devastated. I felt like such a failure.
God still loves you
But as I left the building heading to my next class, I heard that still small voice of God whisper in my ear, “I still love you.”
That calm reassurance gave me a little tiny taste of peace. As it turned out, I totally failed that test. I made a 54 on it. But God’s reassurance that He loved me was like a strong stone wall to lean up against. I ended up getting a B in the class. But the thing that I remember is that this was one of the first times when I felt God’s love for me even when I didn’t think I deserved it.
But I still had to keep learning and experiencing God’s love for me over many years before I could actually believe it.
God sent Jesus because He loves us
Something else that helped me accept the fact that God loves me is that He sent Jesus here to earth.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NIV
God loves everyone, throughout all time, so much, he sent Jesus. Somehow, it was easier for me to accept the fact God loved me if I was just one of the crowd that God loved. God loved me because he loved everyone. I hadn’t really felt God’s individual love for me yet.
But I was still accepting God’s love on an intellectual basis to some degree.
Feeling God’s love
There have been a lot of other breakthroughs to feeling God’s love. For example, when I was very loving and helpful to someone, or I worked unselfishly on an important project, or I forgave someone when it was hard to.
But the feeling that God loved me during those times wouldn’t last. It felt conditional on whether I had done something loving and unselfish.
Another big step for me was coming face to face with the way Jesus loved those he met and healed in his ministry. Whoever was receptive to his message got his full attention, whether they were rich or poor, educated or not, Jewish or Gentile, male or female. He loved them unconditionally.
And think of the love he had for his disciples, even when they didn’t understand his deeper meaning or squabbled over who would be greatest among them. He just kept on loving them.
Jesus would have loved me…
I realized that if I had been with Jesus, he would have loved me in the same way he loved the people he ministered to.
And when I realized Jesus had prayed for me, I began to feel more included in God’s love.
Remember when Jesus prayed for his disciples the night before his crucifixion. After he prayed for them, he added,
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, John 17:20 NIV
It dawned me, Jesus prayed for me because he loved me. And of course this is true for you as well.
…because God loves me
I often quote this next verse on The Bible Speaks to You Podcast, so bear with me, but it helped me realize that if Jesus loved me, that meant God loved me too.
Jesus said,
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. John 5:19 NIV
The only reason Jesus could love me, or you, or anyone, is because he saw the Father love us first.
But it was still hard to completely feel God’s love for me because I was too focused on the mistakes I had made, the sins I had committed, the unworthiness I felt.
Somehow, unconsciously though, because I didn’t really believe this in principle, but somehow I still felt God would love me only if I always did what was right.
But, as I’ve said, over many years God has gently washed away that negative perspective.
One step at a time
And gradually I have come to feel God’s love for me. One Bible verse at a time. One moment of inspiration at time. One good deed at a time. One failure at a time. One conversation with God at a time.
This verse from Isaiah always gave me hope:
“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” Isaiah 1:18 NIV
I used to read that and always thought it applied to other people. It finally dawned on me one day it was meant for me as well. I cried like a baby. Was is possible that God could forgive me for everything, for all my sins? Yes. Absolutely.
A conversation with God
Recently I was going through some things I’d written a while back and I found a little conversation I had with God a few years ago. I asked God questions. And God would answer.
In light of this verse from Isaiah, I asked God
Why do You forgive me?
Because I love you.
But I don’t deserve Your love and forgiveness. I have tried to stop sinning. I have tried to do what I know You want me to do, but I just haven’t been able to do it all yet. And that’s why I don’t feel I deserve Your love and forgiveness.
God says: You deserve to be forgiven
Of course you deserve to be forgiven.
Why? I’ve tried to be better and haven’t done a very good job.
You deserve to be forgiven because I love you.
I will help you do better. I already have, but you don’t always notice. You are walking in the right direction. You are on the right path. You love My Son, Christ Jesus. Keep that up. Keep following him. I will keep you on the path. Watch for the signposts I put along the way.
Why does God love us?
But why do You love me so much?
Because I made you.
Why did You make me?
I made you to radiate forth My glory.
Ha! I haven’t done that too well.
Maybe you have done more than you think. Remember when you were so kind to Edna Cunningham? And what about Mr. Sun? He was quite a scary sight but you treated him with compassion. And don’t forget the man you talked to on Columbus Avenue that morning you were in a hurry. I put him in your path because I knew you could help him. And you did. Don’t tell Me you haven’t reflected My glory out into the world.
You’re right. I have had some precious moments when I felt right next to You. But those times seem so few and far between.
I count time differently than you do. What you call moments, I see as glimpses of eternity. They completely outweigh the darkness you focus on.
God loves us even when we make mistakes
So why do You love me?
You are precious in My sight. I have made you in My very own image and likeness.
But how could you possibly love me with all the mistakes I’ve made. I don’t really feel worthy of Your love.
Remember when you fell in that mud hole in third grade? You were completely covered with that thick brown ooze. Did your mom and dad quit loving you because you got so dirty? Did they even get upset with you?
No, in fact, my dad got the hose and hosed me down, till all the mud was gone. He was very kind to me.
So there you have it. I still love you because I know that all those things you’ve done wrong are just like that mud. Maybe you jumped into some of that mud on purpose. Maybe the world has thrown some of its mud on you. But the “mud,” your sin, was never part of you. I am washing away all the mistakes you have made, big and small, just as your dad washed off all that mud so many years ago. It took a while for him to get it all off, didn’t it?
I had forgotten. Yeah, probably 15 or 20 minutes. And that water was so cold!
Be patient
So be patient with My cleansing process. It may be uncomfortable. It may seem long and drawn out to you, but it’s really just a blink of the eye. Trust Me.
Why do I still find it so hard to believe that you love me?
Because you don’t love yourself. You don’t see your own value. Open your eyes and look at how glorious I made you. Actually, you have to close your material eyes and open your spiritual eyes to see what I’m talking about.
Think of the times in your life when you have expressed love to someone, genuine love. Do you remember?
Yes.
God says: You are of great value to Me
All those experiences add up to immense spiritual value. Over many years you have added loving thoughts and deeds one upon the other and amassed great spiritual value. This is how I see you. You are of great value to Me because of the love in your heart and your life.
I have made you to love and to be loved. You have inherited this from Me. I am Love itself. I love and I am loved. I don’t love you because of what you have done or not done. I love you because you are My child. I just love you. It’s as simple as that.
I still love you and always will.
Thank You, God. I believe you and I love You too. And I am beginning to really love myself.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Well, that was my little conversation with God several years ago. And I’ve come a long way since then in learning to love myself and accept God’s love for me.
I encourage you to have these kinds of conversations with God. Talk to God. Ask Him questions. Listen for His answers. Write it all down in a journal. I promise you, it will be a strength in the future.
God still loves you
He will never give up on you. No matter who you are, where you’re from, what you’ve done, what you haven’t done, whatever your circumstances are, God still loves you. He will do whatever it takes for you to accept and experience His love.
Photo credit: Tadej Skofic
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life. Contact him here.
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Bible References
Jeremiah 31:3 NKJV
3 The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.
John 3:16 NIV
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 17:20 NIV
20 My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
John 5:19 NIV
19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
Isaiah 1:18 NIV
18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
