Topic: You Are Beloved [Joyce Meyer Devotional 11 July 2020]
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So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.— 1 John 4:16 (ESV)
The greatest happiness and peace in people’s lives comes from knowing they are loved unconditionally, for exactly who they are, with all their strengths and weaknesses, good points and not‑so‑good points. I don’t think any human being alive, no matter how wonderful or godly he or she might be, is fully capable of loving us unconditionally all the time. Only God can love us that way.
God loves us unconditionally in spite of ourselves, no matter what we do. But He does even more than that; He also calls us His beloved (see Romans 9:25). This is a term of endearment reserved for someone who is very special to someone else, someone who holds a unique place in another person’s heart. It means to long for, to respect, and to hold in affectionate regard.
When I think of the word beloved, I sense that it means to be loved in every way at every moment in time. Because you are God’s beloved, there has never been and never will be even a split-second when you are not perfectly loved.
The enemy will use many different things that will challenge your belief that you are beloved. He may use words other people have spoken about you, situations where you’ve been victimized, mistakes, failures, disappointments, and anything else that would damage the way you see yourself or cause you to doubt the truth of what God’s Word says about you. Well-known minister and author Henri Nouwen wrote: “Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the ‘Beloved.’ ”
To fight self-rejection and all the other things that try to contradict the “sacred voice that calls us the ‘Beloved,’ ” we need to do what the apostle John encourages us to do in today’s verse: We receive God’s love totally by faith, coming to know and believe He loves us. The more we meditate on that and persist in believing, the more established it becomes in our hearts. When we’ve been deeply wounded, receiving this love is not always easy. Don’t get discouraged if you find yourself struggling to accept it—just let the desire of your heart be to embrace it more and more. If there are times when you feel like you’ve failed, just begin again. With God, you can always make a fresh start. Eventually, God’s unconditional love for you and your place as His beloved will be deeply rooted in your heart and no one will be able to convince you otherwise, but it takes time.
When we’re secure in our place as God’s beloved, we’re strong and confident. We can step into our destiny and into the beautiful future He has planned for us. I encourage you to say out loud today, “I am God’s beloved,” as often as you can. The more you say it, the more you will believe it.
Prayer Starter: Jesus, please heal me where I’ve been hurt, and help me see myself the way You see me, so I can live in the confidence of Your love. Thank You for calling me Your beloved. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
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