“He loves you immensely, and there is nothing you can do to make Him stop loving you.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – August 28, 2022
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1
Last week, I decided the big picture windows that grace our living room needed washing. So, I went to work. I gathered my cleaning supplies and washed and washed until the glass sparkled. Then, I stood back to observe the fruit of my labor and what I saw made me feel all kinds of happy: sun! Sun shining in where there was once dirt clouding the light. Rays flooding where there was once dingy darkness. Just glorious! The trees in front of the house were clearer; the mountains in the distance were more visible. And the living room was flooded with light in a new, fresh way.
This made me consider personal perspectives that can prevent us from experiencing His love and goodness in fullness and seeing Him clearly. One of those things is feeling like an orphan rather than believing we are God’s beloved children.
If we do not believe we have been lavished with His love and that we are fully accepted in the Beloved, it makes us unable to fully experience His goodness as our Father, and fully receive His light into our souls.
Orphans feel like they are never good enough to be loved. They feel as if they must perform to receive acceptance, whereas beloved children know they are loved not because they are good but because God is good.
Orphans also fear judgment. They always wonder if God is going to suddenly become angry with them and punish them. Beloved children rest in His grace knowing He accepts them no matter what they have done. This enables them to do better and to love God more, not from a place of fear but from a place of belonging.
Orphans feel as if they must always beg God for what they need or what they want. In prayer they may not believe He listens, because they feel they must beg for His attention. When they have a problem, they may feel they must beg for help, or if they have a particular need, they must beg for their needs to be met.
A beloved child of God knows the Lord loves them and He is ready to meet their needs. His ear is ready to hear their concerns, and his heart always holds them closely. Orphans never really feel like beloved children.
To move from feeling like an orphan to experiencing God as Father, it takes inner healing and choosing to embrace your identity in Him as a beloved child of God. Then, you can begin to act out that identity to fully experience His grace and love.
If any of this speaks to you today, I encourage you to talk with the Lord about it, and to note in your life when you feel like an orphan and immediately go to Jesus during those times, telling Him how you feel.
He is your faithful father. He loves you immensely, and there is nothing you can do to make Him stop loving you. He loves you just because He made you and you are His creation.
Be encouraged today, you are not an orphan: you are a beloved child of the King.
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. . .” (John 1:12).
Prayer
Lord, how I praise you that I belong to you! You are my beloved and loving Father, and I am your beloved child. Nothing can take me from you. I am held firmly in your hand. I always have your favor. Thank you, Lord. Amen.
Application
Whenever you feel that you have to beg for God’s favor, that the Lord is waiting to punish you, or that you should be afraid of God, talk with Him about it. Let Him reveal His love to you and begin to live out your true identity as a beloved child of God.
Related Reading
2 Corinthians 6:17-18; John 17:25; Galatians 3:26
Worship Resource
Chris Bray: Beloved Child of God
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