The other day I was in my worship time with God and I began to reflect on His love for us. The Bible says we love Him because He first loved us. It's easy to love someone when they love you first. It's easy to love someone who's always there; someone who's patient, strong, and always has you on their mind. But so many times I talk to people that struggle with loving God. There are so many reasons: I can't hear God, He doesn't talk to me, why did He let this or that happen, I don't feel God near me, I've done too many bad things, and on and on and on. . . .
We struggle to love God because we DOUBT His love for us. We struggle to overcome the things that have happened in our lives that would APPEAR to say God does not care. We doubt His love when we struggle to hear His voice, when we walk through dark times, when we FEEL alone. If we would only step back and truly look at our situation, truth begins to enlighten us. Doubt, appearances, and feelings are all based on our own opinions; not necessarily reality.
What is reality? Reality is that God loves us. No matter how we feel or what we think or what it looks like; God LOVES us. So much so He gave His son to die for us. And the Son? Jesus loves us so much that He saw us when there was NOTHING good in us and CHOSE to die for us anyway. He looked at us in our sin, in our darkness, in our hopelessness and climbed on a cross to die for us. I worship a God who loved me when I hated Him, when I blamed Him, when I despised Him. I worship a God who loved me when I could not love myself; a God that offered me hope and life when I deserved death and condemnation. How can I not worship a God that loves like that? How could I offer anything less than my absolute praise? When I think about that kind of love, I have to worship. Regardless of situations or circumstances, that love does not waiver or change. I can rely on His love, lean on His love, depend on His love.
His love can overcome any obstacle and I refuse to look at the obstacle before me when I can gaze at the one who deserves my attention. No matter how dark things have been, how hopeless they have seemed, when I keep my focus on Him, I come out. I can look back and see where He used different situations to grow me, develop me, teach me, increase me. Whether I heard Him or not, felt Him or not; I can see now that He was always there. And He always will be, not only for me but for anyone willing to trust Him.
I love God because He first loved me. And His love will carry me. And as I reflect on that love, I just have to worship . . .
