1 Corinthians 13:4-7
"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."
Love. We always hear that God loves. We say that God is love. But what does that mean to us. God is love.
I want to share with you guys something I wrote a while back. This experience I'm writing about, truly changed my life.
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February
It's so easy to say that You're good. It's so easy to say that You love us. But it isn't so easy in the valleys
It was in the struggling when I needed You. It was when I was broken down to tears when I wanted to see Your love.
I was told by someone to just sit and listen. Nothing else . . . just listen.
I did not think that this would have a huge impact on my life. I truly just did not want to hear You. I was over it. I was upset. But I still sat and listened.
I asked you to show me Your love and it was this moment when you did.
Three scenes flashed through my mind:
The first was on a beach. It was beautiful: sunset, no cloud in the sky, birds flapping, just truly beautiful. You were holding me by my hand and You were looking at me with a smile as I laughed and giggled with glee. My arm was in the air, and I was free. There was nothing holding me back. I was so joyful, so peaceful with You by my side, I felt as if nothing could hold me back.
The next scene, I was sitting on a rock, Your comforting arms around me. My eyes stained with tears as new ones continued to flow out. You were there in the tough, holding onto me telling me not to let go. It was dark, yet You were still there. You did not abandon me.
In the last image, we arrived at a fork in the road. I spotted something in the corner of my eye. I became distracted, walking off our path. I didn't realize I had walked onto another until it got dark. That's when I realized I was alone. Beady eyes stared at me in the forest. Howls surrounded me. I was terrified. Yet, You came to the rescue. You protected me from the evil lurking around me. Even though I wandered away, You came back for me.
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During that time I was 2 out of the 3 of those. I came from a spiritual high, feeling like I was on top of the world, that I could do anything with Christ by my side. I was full of joy. That all changed in a matter of a day. After that one day, a week passed until things really fell apart. That's when God showed me this. The first scene shows that we can be joyful in God. His love will spread into this joy that we can have in our lives. The second image shows that God is with us when we are struggling. His arms are wrapped around us, comforting us. The third showed that even when we loose sight of God and we walk away, He will always be there. He still cares for us. He will keep pursuing us. This is true love.
You can experience God's love in both big and small ways.
That puddle you almost fell in on the way to the bus stop, but didn't.
However, It wasn't just those images that He showed me His love. It was through my life that showed me His love. His love continued to flow out.
So no matter what season you are in, we are all going through different seasons, know that GOD LOVES YOU! HE WILL NEVER STOP LOVING HIS CHILDREN! THIS IS TRUE LOVE!
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I want to end this blog post with some lyrics from Highlands (Song of Ascent) by Hillsong United. This song really helped me during this time of struggle, and I hope it inspires you guys too.
"So I will praise You on the mountain
And I will praise You when the mountain's in my way
You're the summit where my feet are
So I will praise You in the valleys all the same
No less God within the shadows
No less faithful when the night leads me astray
You're the heaven where my heart is
In the highlands and the heartache all the same"
Awesome!!