What is love to you? How would you define it?
My dear friend Jana says this about God’s love for us: “Love is oxygen and yet can leave you breathless. Love is a radical with-ness. When all was lost, we were never really alone or forgotten after all. There was Someone who was not just behind the scenes and waiting in the wings but was interacting, bravely and tenderly intervening, although hidden all along. This Someone had our good in mind and really knew the center of us: belovedness.”
Belovedness. That is what Jesus sees in us. When our hearts suffer from rejection, Jesus is the only One who can help us. Not a single human being can heal what was intended for the Son of Glory to heal. He offers His presence when we offer our vulnerability. He draws near. He meets us in our most tender and broken places. And He forgives and restores.
Ask the Giver of Love for a fresh awareness of His presence. In His presence is the fullness of joy; in His presence is sacred love that will soothe whatever ails you. You are not forgotten; He does not miss a thing. He will never turn on you or withhold love. Instead, He offers it freely, and it’s just what you need. He alone is the very One who can stop the bleeding, administer the salve, and heal every anxious, depressed, worthless thought that creeps into the corners of your mind.
Excerpted from the six-week Bible study Never Alone: 6 Encounters with Jesus to Heal Your Deepest Hurts, Tiffany Bluhm, Ó 2018 by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.