Receive His Love
I went on a drive this morning like I often do, to enjoy the beautiful countryside, to listen to good Bible teaching and good music, to pray and to reflect. This is so often a time when I’m most apt to hear from God; to be receptive to His counsel. This morning, in particular, I sensed God telling me to simply receive His love. Every time I reached for my phone it was as if He said a gentle no. Just receive. Let me love you.
And I did. It was rich. It was warm. It was soothing. It filled me with peace. And joy. He empowered me to love Him back. I had a strong sense that He wants me to continually be open to His love in this way. And that impression is continuing to grow throughout this day. This goes deeper than simply knowing and believing that He loves us. It’s truly experiencing it in the depths of our being. Dare I say “feeling” His love? We have a tendency to shy away from that word. But that’s exactly what He wanted to do in me this morning. He wanted me to FEEL loved by Him.
Is that un-biblical? It’s not Biblical to rely on our feelings. We need to know the truth and to rely on the truth. And the truth is, God loves us! I don’t know about you, but I sure hope those that I love, not only know my love but feel it as well. How sad if my husband doesn’t feel loved by me. Or my kids or grand-kids.
I am one of those blessed people that was raised by parents that showed their love in such tangible ways that I never doubted it. I knew it for a fact and was so sure of it that I was able to feel it on a daily basis. They enjoyed us. They wanted to be with us. They delighted in us.
I remember being in a ladies’ Bible study many years ago and the idea that God delights in us came up. One woman couldn’t accept that idea. Why not? It’s clearly Biblical. The idea that God can delight in His children isn’t a foreign concept to me because I’ve had a lifetime of experiencing my parent’s delight and in turn of delighting in my own children. Granted we (and they) are not always delightful, but as a whole part of loving someone is also delighting in them.
Mothers Day has just passed. I have experienced deeply the love of a good mother, I have had the experience of loving and delighting in my own children. And now I’m fully embracing the role of a loving grandmother. A couple of days ago I dropped by to love on my youngest grandchild, five-month-old Juniper. When I got there my daughter had just put her down for a nap but we could hear her happily chattering away in her crib so Megan let me go into her room and pick her up.
I’m telling this simple story because it so beautifully illustrates what God was asking me to do this morning. When I picked Juniper up she gazed into my face in sweet wonder, smiled, then laid her head on my chest. I snuggled her. She wiggled and smiled in delight, pulled her head back to gaze into my eyes again, smiled and pushed her whole face and body into me in response. Again and again. This little baby was receiving my love and giving love back in the simplest, purest form. She wasn’t expecting anything from me other than my presence and my love. And I delighted in pouring it out in full measure.
When we can truly come to God and receive His love, we have to come without an agenda. We come not to get guidance, direction, or answers. We come simply and purely to receive Him and His amazing love. We come to delight in Him and in turn to experience His delight in us. That, folks, is why He created us. Pure and simple and amazing love. Flowing back and forth from Him to us and from us to Him. Many other wonderful things follow. His guidance, direction and answers. But they should follow that pure relationship of love, not supersede it.
His invitation is always there. Receive from Him.
Jesus said, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” - Jesus
(Matthew 11:28-30)
“Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” Luke 12:7
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”
(Zephaniah 3:17)
“His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.”
(Psalm 147:10-11)
“Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” (Psalm 90:14)
“so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
(Ephesians 3:17-19)
“God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5)
“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” (1 John 4:16) and 19
