The love of God

 

We love Him because He first loved us... 1 John 4:19

  I don't know what you're facing right now, but I just want to tell you, "God loves you." "Right now." It doesn't matter where you are in life. It doesn't matter what battle you're facing, how many times you've made mistakes, or how big of a mess you're in. HE STILL LOVES YOU!

 

This thought has meant a lot to me. Several months ago when I was at one of my lowest points in teaching I listened to this episode,  Trust the Story, on the BEMA podcast. While some of it is pretty hard to understand on the first time through, the one thing that really stuck out to me is the thought that God loves me in my mess. Since then whenever I have a messy classroom, whenever I see a mess, anywhere, I have to think, "God loves me even when my life looks like that."

And with that feeling can come rest. I don't have to pick it all up right this very minute. I need to take time for myself. Now, this should not give me permission to be lazy. But it does give me freedom to relax and not always be working on the messes around me. Sometimes we need to clean. And sometimes we just need a whole lot of love.

 

God also helps bring shalom/peace to our mess/chaos, but sometimes I believe we need to just trust Him with our lives and acknowledge that he still loves us. 

This calendar page hangs on my wall and reminds me that I am special. The necklace was a gift from my neighbor lady when I was in the states for vacation. After I came back I had a very rough day in the schoolroom and was feeling like a failure. That evening several things happened to me to remind me that I am loved. A hug at the right time, encouraging words, and this heart reminded me that God still loves me and has a plan for my life.   Is there an area in your life right now that you can feel God's love? Was there a time when you felt like your life was out of control and someone did something for you or something happened that reminded you of God’s love? I’d love to hear about it. 

And if you think about it, give someone a hug today, speak a bit of encouragement into someone’s life, send a message, be love. Be God’s love to the people around you and remember He loves you first and will always love you. 

❤️God bless you!❤️