Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God, if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
1 John 4:11-12 ESV
I find such comfort in meditating on those first few words when the world is challenging and the enemy is lurking. God so loved us. His steadfast love is always there, unchanging, ever faithful—no matter what we do. It never ceases and He will never give up. His love is steadfast; it is a pursuing, everlasting love that continues to come after us even when we turn our backs on Him. He doesn’t get angry and lash out when we hurt Him, He doesn’t cross His arms and give us the silent treatment, He isn’t fickle, loving us one moment and indifferent the next, He isn’t annoyed when we come to Him over and over again with the same request.
He is always loving, always welcoming, always there for us with the same open and loving arms to receive us regardless of the state we’re in. His love is perfect. And if you’ve become at all familiar with the love of God, you know how personal His love is for us. It isn’t a love that just blankets all people on earth, it is a love specific to each of us. He loves me. He knows my joys, my desires, my purpose, and He knows my heartache and my grief. He saves every one of my tears in a bottle—those I’ve cried in joy and those I’ve cried in despair.
When we’re struggling in a difficult relationship or with difficult circumstances where we’re challenged to demonstrate love, we must start here. We must remember the love He has for us. His love is working all things for our good. Everything He allows, everything He withholds, every difficult season, every stretching circumstance, He means it for our good, because He is good. His disposition is kindness and He is full of compassionate mercy and grace. He is for us and He is good because He loves us far more than we can possibly imagine.
Remembering the love God has for us can soften our hearts toward our spouses when we’re caught in those trying moments. Calling to mind the nature of His love activates His Spirit of love within us and allows us to love where we cannot in our power. Because He loves us, we can love where it’s hardest. And where His love is demonstrated, the enemy flees, darkness is lifted, and unity is restored.
Press on ~ you are loved 💗
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