Loved - Are we? Should we be? CAN we be?

I know, I know. It's Valentine's Day, so that means EVERYONE is making some status or post or blog on love. This also involves the mention of wonderful things like hearts, flowers and chocolate.
Okay, don't get me wrong, I totally agree that God is our first love and He makes us whole even if we're single, etc. BUT, I didn't want to just throw out another one of those speeches.

 I think most ladies (and gentlemen) have heard that speech a countless amount of times. They want to believe it. They want to be able to think and believe that even though they have no physical, human lover, that they are still complete and satisfied. It is true that they are complete. But are they truly satisfied?
For a long time, I thought I loved myself. You know, a healthy amount of love for one self.
You take care of yourself, your dress yourself nice, you feed yourself, you are responsible with your body, you have friends, you have a good church community, and the list goes on and on.

But recently I have come to realize that it's not so much that I don't love myself, but that I don't believe I should be loved, or worse yet, I can't be loved.. Anyone out there feel me right now? Somehow I just know, whether verbally spoken or not, in some of your hearts, you feel this too.

This is not to say that "Ah mah gosh! I am SO wonderful, who wouldn't love me?! I DESERVE to be loved!" This is more along the lines of... "Look at me. At all my imperfections. Does God REALLY love all of this? Does He REALLY want this relationship with me? I mean, look at me, I can't do anything right. I shouldn't be loved. I can't be loved."

Take this simple phrase, one which we are all so familar with: "God loves you."

It's almost so overused that we are jaded towards it.

But if we truly believed this in our heart of hearts, how would our lives look?

How different would we be?

If we truly believed that God loved us, that we do not have to constantly beat ourselves up over our sins, our imperfections, that we do not have to try to have everything together, and be the "most spiritual Christian", wouldn't we be so different?

It's not Valentine's Day itself that makes people feel miserable. It's the fact that it's a huge reminder to ourselves of our deep feelings of not being loved, a reminder to the fact that we feel like we should not or cannot be loved. It becomes such a large gap in our hearts because at the heart of every individual is the desire to be truly loved and truly known.
If we believed that God truly knows us and still truly loves us, then I think we would feel and think quite a bit differently about ourselves.
Why?
Because what you think about yourself reflects what (1) God thinks and (2) what you think God thinks of you.

• "I should/can not be loved." = "God does not love me/God is not capable of truly loving me because He does not truly know me."
• "I cannot forgive myself." = "God cannot forgive me."
• "I am not complete." = "God cannot complete me."
• "I am alone." = "God does not understand me."
• "I am trapped." = "God cannot free me."
• "I feel so burdened." = "God cannot carry my burdens."
• "I am worried." = "God is not in control of this situation."
• "I cannot let go of this situation." = "God is not trustworthy."

Those are just a few examples that show the reflection of our true state of relation with God and our satisfaction in Him.
And the truth is, whether you are single today or not, you can still be facing this dilemma in your life.

Someone wise recently told me that "God is not against us, He is against our sin."
Let's reverse it. God is for YOU! God wants to make you whole, He wants you to know and feel that you are loved. He has come to remove the shame, the guilt, the feelings of not being good enough or measuring up to someone elses opinions or ideas.

So today, remove the roses, the chocolate, perhaps even the special someone, and ask yourself: Should I be loved? Can I be loved?

God does love you. He wants you to know you are loved and you are known. Of course you can read this and still not truly believe. It's a long process but a life changing one, for sure. It's a process I am still working through. But every now and then I catch a glimpse of its beauty.

By believing this truth then it will not only effect what you think of yourself, but what you think of others. But that's a post for another time. ;)

That concludes my ramblings. Hope it made sense. Now I will go enjoy some chocolate myself... ;)

Romans 8:38-39

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

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For All the Single Ladies :)

Hey Beautiful Single Ladies!

Yep. I know, it's Valentine's Day. And you're dateless.

Or are you?

I'm single, but I'm certainly not dateless. And neither are you!

So maybe I don't have this day to celebrate with an earthly guy, but I sure do have it to celebrate with a guy even better - a Heavenly, perfect guy. :) His name is Jesus!

He is my Valentine not only today, but everyday, since before I was born even until after I breathe my last. No, he didn't bring me flowers or chocolates. He gave me something greater!

He gives me His everlasting love and joy. He does something that no earthly guy can do - satisfies me to the core! Through His love and my relationship with Him, I am content and satisfied! No earthly guy can do that! Though maybe an earthly guy can fill me with temporary "contentment" or happiness, eventually even that will fade and the void within my heart will seem just as big as it ever was.

Are you feeling that void today? Are you feeling that spot in your heart that is yearning and seeking for love and joy to fill it up? I ask you to seek out this Valentine of mine - Jesus! You will soon come to the realization that He's been pursuing you all along. :) He's got your heart in His hands and no other love can compare to His! For crying out loud, God IS love!

"....because God is love."

1 John 4:8b

Don't believe me yet? Check out these verses - straight from God himself to You. :)

"The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness."

Jeremiah 31:3

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

1 John 4:9-10

God loved you and me, so much that He would give up His very own son for us! Isn't that amazing?

And one of my favorites...

"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.  Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written:

           “For your sake we face death all day long;
            we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:31-39

Isn't that beautiful? NOTHING can separate us from the love of Christ, nothing! :)

My Challenge to You: Please, PLEASE, do not miss out on the ever-present love of Christ simply because you spend all of today dwelling on the love you think you're missing out on! Whether you're single or not, Valentine's Day doesn't have to be viewed as a depressing and lonely day! Certainly not when you realize the love Christ has for you. :) God is SO good and though you may be single today, that may not be true tomorrow (figuratively speaking). Trust in God, for right now He may be preparing someone just for you. :) Think of that special gentlemen that God is preparing for you to meet someday. Are the few Valentine Day's spent single really worth all that much in comparison to all the Valentine Day's that you may spend with the person God prepared for you? I think not. :) Even if God does not provide that special someone for you - or for me - we can remain joyful and content knowing that we rest in His loving arms. :)

SO, what are you waiting for? Put on a big grin and be thankful for the love you have in Christ, always and forever. :)

P.S. For more on the earthly prince side of things and what you should do while you wait for God to bring him into your life, check out an earlier blog post I created by clicking here!