TRUSTING IN GOD

 

TRUSTING IN GOD

I John 4:16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in him. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. NLT

One thing that I want you to really know is that God loves you so much. I want you to think about how much He loves you. Think about how bad off you were before Christ came into your life. Think about how miserable you really felt inside of you before you experienced Christ’s love and forgiveness. Think about those times you stubbornly rejected His love. Think about His faithfulness and patience with you since He saved you. Think about what a difference He has made in your life and outlook on life. Think about your blessings from God, the good things He pours into your soul because Jesus lives in you. The love of God for us is so much greater than we can even imagine!

We can trust God because we know He loves us so much. We know that He will only treat us with goodness. We know that He will always work in us to help us become the best we can be in Him. We know that because He loves us, He will never go away or turn His back on us and stop loving us.

God is love and His children love as He loves. We cannot love any other way when Christ lives in us. His love overwhelms our natural way of loving. He changes the character of our love so that we become more and more like Him in His love. His love is the natural fruit of living in a relationship with Him.

If you are a child of God, you will be a channel of His love. If you are not characterized by His love, then you are not a child of God. Think about how you relate to people. Is it obvious to them that you are a child of God because of how you act and talk? If you are a child of God, you will be an encourager. You will always seek the good of others. You will actively bring Christ into their lives by the example you set before them in how you are loving them.

The true measure of your standing with God is how you love and whom you love. A true child of God will not just love those who love them. He will love those who he has problems with as well, those who have no problem with making his life miserable.

Not everyone is going to respond positively to your loving them and some will outright want nothing to do with you. But, that does not excuse us from loving them. We may not get along with them or even like them, but we must love them.

Loving involves a genuine concern for their souls, wanting what is best for them in life, wanting them to know the Lord. Loving them includes praying for those who despise us and helping others as we are able whether it is appreciated or not.

Loving others flows from our trusting God to not let our acts of kindness return to Him void. We trust that what we do and say will be fruitful seed sown, no matter how hard the soil may be. Trust the Lord to be merciful and gracious to all those whom you love in the Lord.