Earlier this week I was having a conversation with one of our children and she said to me, "Mum, they just need to know that God loves them."
God's love. It's freely available for you and me. It is the love that doesn't come with strings attached. It doesn't change depending on what you do or don't do. It doesn't stop and start depending on how God feels. It is complete and forever love.
It's available to us because of what Jesus did for us. It is comes to us via the Holy Spirit.
And this hope is not a disappointing fantasy, because we can now experience the endless love of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who lives in us! For when the time was right, the Anointed One came and died to demonstrate his love for sinners who were entirely helpless, weak, and powerless to save themselves. Romans 5:5-6 TPT
Derek Prince, in his book, The Flow of Divine Love, says,
"Hope, or love, is never disappointed when it is fixed in God because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts - the totality of God's love. God withholds nothing. He just turns the bucket upside down and pours out the whole thing when He gives us the Holy Spirit." page 39
There are so many things in our lives that cause disappointment. We can be disappointed in ourselves - our reactions, our choices and our inability to change (probably because we are trying to change in our strength, without letting God lead the transformation). We can be disappointed in other people - their reactions, their choices, and their inability to change! Oh yes, many opportunities for disappointment to set in.
But when we get a revelation of God's love for us...
This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. John 3:16 The Message
His grace given to us .... that is sufficient for every situation
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV
His mercy available to us ... as an on-going daily gift
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV
Yes, when we have that revelation of God's love, grace and mercy, then we can process disappointment in ourselves well.
The more we understand that God's love for us does not change, we are able to have authentic conversations with Him, hear His guidance for our lives and act on that advice as best we can. His still small voice oozes love for us, and our acceptance of that love, helps us to better love ourselves, and ultimately move from that place of disappointment.
And when we get that revelation that God loves everyone in the same way - unconditionally, and that His grace and mercy is available for everyone, then it becomes easier for us to process our disappointment with other people. We are all sinners.
For we all have sinned and are in need of the glory of God. Yet through his powerful declaration of acquittal, God freely gives away his righteousness. His gift of love and favor now cascades over us, all because Jesus, the Anointed One, has liberated us from the guilt, punishment, and power of sin! Romans 3:23-24 TPT
But before we can love others well, our personal revelation of God's love for us has to come first ...
Our love for others is our grateful response to the love God first demonstrated to us 1 John 4:19 TPT
Once we understand God's love for us, we are more able to love others well and let go of the disappointment because we know that they, just like us, are in that transforming process. His grace is sufficient for everyone; His mercies are new every morning for everyone.
And when we are in that place, our heart is more aligned with God's heart for people, what a beautiful place to be. A place of love.
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