Today’s Theme: What Does Love Mean to You?
Audio Option
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Scripture
I love you, lord, my strength.
Psalm 18:1
Reflection
Yep, we’re diving back into Psalm 18:1. I think we say the words I love you so much that we’re numb to their actual meaning. Has the word “Love” turned into a sticker we just slap onto things and people? Is that why we can say we love someone one day and then say we don’t love them anymore a day or so later? We tell people that we have “fallen out of love” with them.
God is love. So are we saying that God is then no longer in that relationship? That we or the other person has removed Him?
I love people even when I don’t like what they do or say. I may no longer have a romantic interest in an ex, but I still love them. I love the essence of light that drew us together. Even if it was the flesh that tore us apart, it doesn’t negate the love at the core of what once was a relationship.
That’s partly why we struggle with forgiving and letting go of the hurt we feel because it’s hard to grasp that you can dislike someone you love or that you have grown apart and know in your heart that the time of lessons and learning with them has ended, and the lifetime you may have desired is not part of God’s timetable. We get frustrated with our inability to control the elements and narrative of the relationship and the people in it.
To say that we love God, what are we truly saying? What are we professing and claiming? Is it truly “I Love You,” or is it “I love You, but…” or “I love You if…” and with that comes conditions?
God loves you. Period. He knows you aren’t perfect. Neither was David and look at all the ways He blessed David and his line. Heck, look at the vast majority of people shared in the Bible, flaws and all, yet God blessed them. He is the strength that you call on each day. Can you fathom His dedication and devotion to you? All that He wants is a healthy relationship with you. He wants your trust, obedience, loyalty, and commitment. He wants you to choose Him first and always.
Life throws a lot at us, and at times it can be overwhelming and spiritually paralyzing. The enemy and its crew despise you. They will stop at nothing to get you to delay, derail, dismantle, and destroy your life. They feed off of discouraging, distracting, and misdirecting you. You must be vigilant! We have to stop in our tracks when we feel the anxiety building up, and the need to think, overthink, react, then overreact takes over—until we’re out of control—of ourselves. We have to listen for God’s voice and ignore our own. We have to listen to Him as He whispers in our ears. Listen and follow Him, not the enemy, not the desires of the flesh.
God’s voice isn’t manipulative, and He never leads us astray. We have to learn to discern His voice from the enemy’s. We have to learn to discern His encouragement and direction towards the light versus the enemy’s voice, who will always try to lead you towards pain and darkness, masked as pleasure and light. God would never encourage or be supportive of you telling lies, stealing, cheating, or manipulating others—but the enemy would. The enemy encourages self-serving, self-centeredness, and selfish acts. While God recenters us on living selflessly.
When you feel yourself about to do or say something that you know is wrong, is not Christlike, and isn’t something you would suggest someone else to do— if the two of you were sitting in front of Jesus— stop and pray for God’s guidance and heavenly touch to see you through the situation. I have my ups and downs. It’s a struggle, especially when I listen more to the enemy, who tells me what I lack, rather than listen to God, who constantly shows me my blessings and the abundance that I possess. As I said the other day, I’m claiming my full alignment and impenetrable relationship!
Prayer
Thank You Father for this moment with You. You fill me. You complete me. Thank You for the molding, the lessons, and blessings. Thank You for showing me each day what love is and how I’m not to take it or You for granted. You nor love are bumper stickers or rugs to toss over and hide mess.
I don’t want to cheapen the essence of You or the relationship that I have with You. What I share with You is unique and priceless. Help me to honor You and what we have together. Help me to fully embrace and be the image that You created me to be. I celebrate You and our relationship, today and always. Amen.
And with that family, I pray that you are blessed, that you see and embrace your blessings, and that you are a blessing to others.
Love,
Natasha
Copyright 2011-2024. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved. All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. BreakingBreadWithNatasha.com
Music: Climb by Shane Ivers; Quiescent In Time by Shane Ivers – https://www.silvermansound.com
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