"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35
Have you ever tried to love someone who won't let you? Have you ever done something to show someone you care and they ignored your actions, tossed them aside, or perhaps even criticized you for your efforts? Have you ever had to tell someone they are behaving in a destructive way that will lead to pain and heartache and they accuse you of being judgmental and unloving?
Being accused of not loving someone you love dearly is painful. It's raw emotion there is no remedy for. Except to love all the more, which usually leads to more heartache. Until that person acknowledges your love for them, they cannot receive it, and because you love them so much, you can't pull the plug. You keep loving them anyway.
Sometimes people tell me, 'I don't think God loves me. I don't feel loved.' It breaks my heart to hear them say that, and I can imagine God's heart must break too. They know what Jesus did for them. They know they are blessed in countless ways. But still, they doubt. They can't feel it, so therefore it must not be true.
Think about that person you love who won't receive your love. Do you love them? Yes. Do they feel it? No. But you do love them. Their unbelief doesn't change your love for them, it only changes their experience of it. Instead of appreciating your efforts to help, guide, and encourage them, they push you away. They accuse you of not being loving, when in reality they are not receiving the love they desperately need.
Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. (You need Me every day, and I'm here.) He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (I will satisfy you.)" He is inviting you into His love, into His care, into what will fill the deepest needs of your heart. His love is not the variable in the equation; It's our belief. His love is guaranteed. Our faith? Not so much.
Perhaps you don't think God loves you. Perhaps you don't feel loved. But you are. Don't go by what you feel. Go by what He says. When you believe Him, then you feel it. You see it. You realize how blind you've been.
God loves you. That's the truth! Believe it. Believe it with every fiber of your being, and if you can't, ask Him to help you believe. There's nothing else He would rather do.
We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
Have you ever tried to love someone who won't let you? Have you ever done something to show someone you care and they ignored your actions, tossed them aside, or perhaps even criticized you for your efforts? Have you ever had to tell someone they are behaving in a destructive way that will lead to pain and heartache and they accuse you of being judgmental and unloving?
Being accused of not loving someone you love dearly is painful. It's raw emotion there is no remedy for. Except to love all the more, which usually leads to more heartache. Until that person acknowledges your love for them, they cannot receive it, and because you love them so much, you can't pull the plug. You keep loving them anyway.
Sometimes people tell me, 'I don't think God loves me. I don't feel loved.' It breaks my heart to hear them say that, and I can imagine God's heart must break too. They know what Jesus did for them. They know they are blessed in countless ways. But still, they doubt. They can't feel it, so therefore it must not be true.
Think about that person you love who won't receive your love. Do you love them? Yes. Do they feel it? No. But you do love them. Their unbelief doesn't change your love for them, it only changes their experience of it. Instead of appreciating your efforts to help, guide, and encourage them, they push you away. They accuse you of not being loving, when in reality they are not receiving the love they desperately need.
Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. (You need Me every day, and I'm here.) He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (I will satisfy you.)" He is inviting you into His love, into His care, into what will fill the deepest needs of your heart. His love is not the variable in the equation; It's our belief. His love is guaranteed. Our faith? Not so much.
Perhaps you don't think God loves you. Perhaps you don't feel loved. But you are. Don't go by what you feel. Go by what He says. When you believe Him, then you feel it. You see it. You realize how blind you've been.
God loves you. That's the truth! Believe it. Believe it with every fiber of your being, and if you can't, ask Him to help you believe. There's nothing else He would rather do.
We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
