Tag Archives: Faith

Faith, God’s Love, Write 31 Days Challenge 2019

Day 3 in God’s Love – Unconditionally Loved

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Probably one of the most popular ways to describe God’s love is unconditional. Although we may know God’s love is unconditional, do we really believe it? Deep down in our hearts?

When I think of the wrong things I have done, why would God still love me? When I think of what I have been through in life, why would God still bother? If I think of all the times I have rejected Him, why did He not do the same?

Paul is a great example of God showing His unconditional love to someone. When Paul was known as Saul, he sought out God’s followers. He hunted and persecuted Christians like a predator searching for its prey.

Yet God still loved him.

I’ve not done anything like what Paul has done. I’ve not got anyone killed. (Although, I may have thought about doing it!) God still accepted Paul though despite what he has done and what he has been through.

So what does this unconditional love feel like?

The moment I held each of my babies in my arms, I knew then my love for them was unmeasurable. It didn’t stop either as they have grown up. Through all their sleepless nights, tantrums, back-chatting, never ending time-outs, hurts and constant bickering between each other, I have loved them.

I still love them. Unconditionally.

Why?

Because they are my children. They need my unconditional love. They don’t need to do anything in return. I don’t expect them to. I just love them anyway!

That’s how God loves us. Because we are His children. I need unconditional love. Oh, how I need His unconditional love. God doesn’t expect me to act in a certain way to receive His love. He just loves me anyway.

God doesn’t expect me to act in a certain way to receive His love. He just loves me anyway. Share on X

Something to think about…

Write down on a piece of paper all the ways why you think God wouldn’t love you. When finished, take hold of the paper and scrunch it up or rip it into shreds. Throw the paper into the waste basket. (The best action is to burn it, but only if it is safe to do so and it is at your risk).

As you dispose of the paper, remember God still loves you no matter what! He doesn’t hold anything against you. That is why we dispose of the paper. It is no longer needed.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for showing me how much you love me. Thank you for always being there, no matter what. Thank you for never turning away, even when I may have turned away from you. I need your unconditional love. Please find ways to show how much you love me when I need to see it most. Keep reminding me of your love. Amen

Abuse, Faith

God Loves a Willing Heart

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God loves a willing heart

God called Mary. He called her to do the unthinkable. I’m not referring to giving birth to the Son of God although, that was pretty major! No, I’m referring to God calling Mary to be willing and God loves a willing heart.

Think about it. 

Mary had to be willing to do as God called her in the face of adversity. She was going to face her hardest trial yet. Mary was young, poor, not yet married…and was pregnant! People she knew and loved would turn their backs on her.

Mary had never been intimate with a man before therefore, how can she be pregnant? Can you imagine the gossip going around? The looks. The innuendos. People talking behind her back. 

What would you do if you were in her shoes? 

Well, I feel a little like Mary at the moment. No, I am not pregnant! I feel God is asking me if I am ready to take the next step in carrying out His purpose in my life. 

I’ve had a stirring in my heart now for about 3-4 years. I said yes to God for Him to use me and to use what I had been through in my past. It’s been a long period of cultivating my heart and waiting on what God wants me to do.

It’s not been easy. Sometimes it’s been a painful learning process but, God has strengthened me in my healing. He gave me opportunities at various times to share my story.

Over the last 3-4 years, how He has wanted to use me has remained unanswered, and at times this has been frustrating. I want to help other people who have been through similar situations to my own and I know what I have been through in my life will make a difference for others. 

Well, this has changed over the last month. I feel a big stirring inside me that something big is going to happen. I’ll be honest though…I am scared!

I’m on the launch team for Mary DeMuth’s book “We Too: How the Church Can Respond Redemptively to the Sexual Abuse Crises”. When I saw what this book was about, I realised I had to jump at the chance to be on the launch team. I am passionate about helping people who have been sexually abused.

The scary bit? Being a voice for those who need to be heard. This means being vulnerable and leaving myself open. And that is scary. 

I have questioned if this is the right thing for me to do. After all, I could just keep quiet and have an easier life! However, I feel I have this deep stirring in my heart and I need to be willing. No matter how scared I feel. This is what it means to have a willing heart in the moment when God asks something of you. 

Could you be like Mary?

Have you been praying for God to use you in some way and has He asked you to do the unthinkable? What would you honestly do?

Are you scared and would you respond by hiding away? Well, God will give you strength. 

Isaiah 41:10

Would you say you are not worthy to be chosen? Well, God says you are so worthy. 

John 15:16

Or, would you be like Mary and say, “Here I am, Lord”?

Luke 1:38

If you are scared, don’t be. We just need to have a willing heart. God will do the rest. He will prepare us for what is to come next. 

If you are scared, don’t be. We just need to have a willing heart. God will do the rest. Share on X

This post was originally written for the Five Minute Friday Community which is where a number of writers gather for a weekly writing challenge around a single word prompt. We write to our hearts content and only for five minutes (or there abouts). 

I couldn’t stick to five minutes on this one and ended up missing the link up! Doh!! The word prompt was “willing” and you can click here to view what other people have written. 

Faith, Five Minute Friday, Write 31 Days Challenge 2018

Day 31 – The Door may Close, but God is still Close

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Sometimes when a door closes on us, we feel a bit let down. An opportunity we were waiting for that was in our grasp has been taken away. When opportunities constantly seem to pass us by, we then start to get despondent.

We don’t see in these moments the opportunities God is working out beneath our disappointments. Paul experienced a lot of closed doors when he was travelling around. They practically slammed right in his face.

That didn’t stop him from persevering on. He knew God was still close beside him, despite the disappointments he was facing. The doors closing in front of him we’re paving the way to open ones ahead. We just can’t see the open door just yet.

Take heart, friends. We experience many doors closing in our lives, and sometimes it hurts when it slams shut. We may not see what the closed door means now, but when the time is right you may see them as a blessing in the future.

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

You are reading day 31 of the Write 31 Days Challenge in conjunction with The Five Minute Friday Community. Today’s word prompt is ‘close ’.