I am Loved: The Bible Tells Me So
The Bible tells me so.
It’s high time we celebrate stories of love, rescue, and redemption.
Powerful stories of when loss turned to gain; when darkness turned to light; when true hope won over hopeless, and when over-comers sung their victory song.
And we celebrate the moments when those of us who felt unlovable, realized how much God loves us.
We thought love thrived in shiny things and people. But God loves misfits who need a Savior.
Love we lost, we gained through Christ.
What people made fake about love, God made true in His deep and wide and high love.
Real love brought us out of the darkness and into God’s marvelous light. We found hope for true love in the kind of love that goes to the cross.
If you know my story, then you know I felt unlovable for years. For more of my story, watch the short storyline video at the end of my home page.
Maybe, like me, at some point you questioned if anyone really loves you. But the greatest love story every told is also our love story if we know Jesus.
So, we put to rest, once and for all, any doubt about God’s love. Then we quit wasting another minute believing something about love God never said.
How? Because the Bible tells me so. Therefore, to believe and know the truth about real love, we must look to Scripture.
1.) I am loved.
“I have loved you with an everlasting love” Jeremiah 31:3.
Receive God’s truth: I am loved. I believe God loves me. The Bible tells me so.
I love you with an everlasting love. ~ God Click To Tweet2.) Love laid down His life for me.
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” John 15:13.
Searching for extravagant love? It’s found at Calvary’s cross, purchased for us by the blood of Jesus. Click To TweetReceive God’s truth: Jesus loves me and gave His life for me. The Bible tells me so.
3.) Perfect love drives out my fear.
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us” 1 John 4:18-19.
Receive God’s truth: God loved me first. His love perfected in me, drives out my fear. The Bible tells me so.
4.) God quiets me with His love.
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” Zephaniah 3:17.
Receive God’s truth: The Lord saved me and quiets me with His tender love. The Bible tells me so.
5.) God redeems my life from the pit and crowns me with love.
“Who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy” Psalm 103:4.
Receive God’s truth: God redeemed me and crowned me with love. The Bible tells me so.
God redeemed me and crowned me with love. The Bible tells me so. Click To Tweet6.) God’s love for me is steadfast and stands forever.
“I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness” Psalm 89:1-2.
Receive God’s truth: God’s faithful and steadfast love for me stands forever. The Bible tells me so.
7.) Because of the Father’s love, He calls me His child.
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” 1 John 3:1a.
Receive God’s truth: My heavenly Father loves me so much, He calls me His child. The Bible tells me so.
So, are you celebrating your story of love, rescue, and redemption?
And are you singing your victory song?
Also, which of the 7 points means the most to you or what would you add about God’s love?
All Scripture ESV.
Top photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash.
Middle photo by Jez Timms on Unsplash.
Bottom photo by Brigitte Tohm on Unsplash.
*Sometimes I participate in these link-ups:
Ronja Oksanen/ #AboundingGrace, Rachel Lee/#DestinationInspiration, Debbie Kitterman/#Dare2Hear, Lori Schumaker/#momentsofhope, Jaime Wiebel/#SittingAmongFriends, Crystal Twadell/Fresh Market Friday, Kelly Balarie/Purposeful Faith, Patricia Holbrook/Soaring With Him, Meghan Weyerbacher/TeaandtheWord, Lyli Dunbar/#FaithOnFire & Crystal Storms/Heart Encouragement.
© 2019 by Karen Friday, All rights reserved
Reading your message, I began singing “Jesus Loves Me”. Yes, Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so… Great message Karen. 🙂
Thanks, Melissa! You are loved! “I love you with an everlasting love.” ~ God
“loss turned to gain; when darkness turned to light; when true hope won over hopeless, and when over-comers sung their victory song.”
And beauty instead of ashes.
A beautiful post. God bless!
Yes, Nancy! When beauty came from ashes! What love! What marvelous love from the Father.
I simply can’t choose a favorite in the seven you offered here, Karen – all are important and relevant in our walk with the Lord. Knowing we are loved so completely by Him is such a comfort and a blessing. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t know my Father’s love.
Blessings!
I’m with you on those sentiments, Martha! Believing God’s truth that we are completely loved in every way is a game-changer in our life. The high and wide and deep love of our Father who tenderly whispers, “I love you, child.”
Beautiful reminder of how much God loves each and every one of us and we can’t escape His love or lose it. Perfect love does drive out fear, especially the fear of being unloveable and forgotten.
We never outrun God’s love, Yvonne. I like how you said, perfect love drives out the fear of being unlovable and forgotten.
Receive God’s truth: God loved me first. His love perfected in me, drives out my fear. The Bible tells me so.
Thanks for the uplift, Karen. Hearing so many negative words so often and seeing such negative actions all around, our readers really do need good news, and, as Christian poets and writers, we have THE Good News to share.
My favorite writing – whether NF article, poem, or devotional – is when the writer acts like a Psalmist! i.e., Over 1/3 of the psalms are basically laments, which makes them credible, yet almost none of them ends on a down note. Almost all (maybe minus one) end on a word of faith and hope.
May God continue to bless your uplifting words in Christ.
Yes, Mary. In the midst of any bad news, we have both good news and God news. I like your idea of a writer acts like a Psalmist! The writers of Psalms certainly did lament before God and over the circumstances of their lives and the world. Love how you pointed out how they usually end on a good note.
Thanks for the blessing! I pray blessing and anointing over your writing, Mary.
This is beautiful, Karen! A much needed message. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the pains and the challenges of life and to forget to bask in the love of God! I love this part: “Love we lost, we gained through Christ. What people made fake about love, God made true in His deep and wide and high love. Real love brought us out of the darkness and into God’s marvelous light. We found hope for true love in the kind of love that goes to the cross.” He’s our only hope, and he loves us!
Thank you, Melinda. I like how you said we forget to bask in the love of God. He is our only hope and we discover just how true that is and how much He loves us in the Bible.
Let’s put to rest, once and for all, any doubt about God’s love. Then we quit wasting another minute believing something about love God never said.
Karen, I struggled for years with insecurity and low self-esteem, then truth changed everything. God loves me! The Bible tells me so–and His Spirit dwelling in me confirms it. That gives me value.
Dianne, so good, “… then the truth changed everything.” Thankful you celebrate your story of love, rescue, and redemption. And that you are singing your victory song!
Hey, Karen.
I’ve been thinking a lot about God’s love lately. It’s a directive of mine this year to engage God’s love. So I’ve been reading books to challenge my preconceptions of God’s love. The one I thought of while reading your post was Ragamuffin Gospel. Your quote God loves misfits who need a Savior. This is the essence of unconditional love from God. He loves me more deeply and unequivocally than I can comprehend. Good post!
Thanks, Chip. Whether or not we realize it, we are all misfits in some way. Even the cream of the crop, so to speak, are misfits inside. All humans are tattered and broken. I’m thankful the blood of Jesus brought extravagant love to every misfit.
Hi Karen. I like #7, God’s steadfast, forever love. As frequently as I fail and as much as I fall short, I so appreciate that God continues to welcome me with loving arms. And those loving arms will usher me in to Heaven someday. I recall watching your storyline video and I remember praising God along with you. Such a great expression of God’s open arms.
Stephen, that’s beautiful imagery…the Lord welcomes us with open arms even if we fall short or fail. And thanks about my storyline video. It still moves me to emotions when I think of God’s love finding me and rescuing me.
“I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.” Psalm 89:1-2, ESV
For several years, I struggled with doubt about whether God really loved me. I saw circumstances in my life I couldn’t accept God would allow, and wrestled with whether God loved me and was good. I’m so thankful God didn’t leave me in my doubt. Instead, He walked with me through hard times, teaching me through hardship He is good. After studying the book of John a few years ago, He gently revealed my doubt and began replacing lies with truth. I so appreciate these verses and truths and am saving this for later, as I know I struggle with this truth! Thank you!
Me too, Elaine. The struggle is real. 🙂 I did Kelly Minter’s study, “What Love is” several years ago based on the life and letters of John. So we not only spent a lot of time in 1, 2, 3 John but also his gospel. Bottom line, God loved us first and calls us His children. We don’t have to make sense of everything, and hardships never make God’s love less true. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience! Blessings!
Oh my, Karen. Thank you for this post. I love how well you put together lists like this. These are things we desperately need to remember. I had goosebumps for the entire first section but this part hit me the most, “Powerful stories of when loss turned to gain; when darkness turned to light; when true hope won over hopeless, and when over-comers sung their victory song.”
AMEN!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks so much, Stephanie. Those are all things worth celebrating and jumping for joy over! And so is God’s love. Real love turned our loss into gain, brought us out of the darkness and into God’s marvelous light. We found hope for true love in the kind of love that goes to the cross. Hallelujah!
It still amazes me that we are so loved by such a powerful God. I see and experience his love all around me in so many different ways! We are blessed indeed. Thanks, Karen.
We are blessed and loved and cherished by the God of the universe. I stand in awe. Thanks for commenting, Lisa.
Hi Karen …
Yes, God’s Word is a magnificent love story, from beginning to end. Even those passages we can’t quite grasp display His character and wisdom …
God is love. And I am so grateful!
Hey Linda, God = love. It originates in Him, dwells in Him, and He cannot not love. Oh, the love of God! We are blessed. Thanks for commenting!
Beautiful truth that reminds me of a little plaque my sons made for me. It says: “Jesus knows me, this is I love.”
Amazing that He loves me even though He alone knows the depth of my sin.
I love that, Michele. He knows us and still, He loves us the same. Powerful!
Karen,
From my childhood, on through most of my adulthood, I felt I had to please others to earn their love. It wasn’t until my late 40s that I experienced the unconditional love of Jesus. At that moment, I was set free. I’ve not felt unloveable since that day in October 2001. I realize now that I am HIS child…a beloved child.
Thank you for this post!
Blessings,
Carol
Beautiful testimony, Carol. I used to wonder, how can we secure love without prerequisites? A kissing-tear-wiping-make-it-better-kind-of-love. There’s good news and God news. The greatest love story ever told. Jesus loves us, the Bible tells us so. Thanks for commenting.