Rooted in Unshakable Love
Your Nightly Prayer
By Candice Lucey
TONIGHT'S SCRIPTURE
“I have loved you with an everlasting love.” - Jeremiah 31:3
SOMETHING TO PONDER
A few months after my friend’s husband left her for another woman, Joanne wanted to find herself a guy - someone who would make her feel attractive for the first time in a long time. “I don’t need him to love me; I don’t need a forever relationship. I just want to feel like someone wants me, even for a little while.” She was willing to settle for attraction and short-term sparks when God wanted to show her how deeply he loves her. No human being can love us the way we want to be loved, or love someone else perfectly; yet, there is perfect love waiting for us.
Jesus loves us so completely that he went to the cross so we could be reunited with the Father forever. He redeemed us from the grave with his own life: that is an intense, sacrificial love. “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) The pain you feel when your husband, parent, or family member rejects you is real. The pain of being single as your friends get married, or when your spouse dies, and you are left alone, is real. The pain AND JOY of choosing Christ over a relationship that is not good for you is real. God sees it all and weeps with you, even if he seems far away. For believers, the truth is that his presence - though mysterious - is a present reality because his Holy Spirit lives inside of every person who calls Jesus Lord and Savior.
We know that his love is unshakeable because of the Cross. Jesus was willing to die for us so that we could be with him. The simple and stunning fact is that his love never leaves us (Hebrews 13:5), and it is deeper, more powerful than any love we are capable of. Jesus loved us “while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8) Even at our ugliest, when we struggle to love our neighbor the way we are called to do, Christ is still faithful to his Brid,e and he can be trusted to love his Bride eternally.
YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER
Lord God,
I understand my friend’s longing. I want to show her that the love you offer endures and fills us up when we let it. Show me how to make you real to her. Without you, I would be callous, thoughtless, and selfish. WITH you I still am more often than I like to admit, because only your love is completely trustworthy and eternal. I pray that you will replace my insufficient and unreliable capacity to love with your sufficiency and patience so that I disappear and all that anyone sees anymore is you, wonderful and loving you.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.
THREE THINGS TO PONDER UPON
1. We often lament that others do not love us or those around them well. Do we examine our own hearts? Let your disappointment in another person be the catalyst for self-reflection. Ask God to search your heart (Psalm 139:23-24) and reveal any lurking sin that is hardening your heart.
2 . Christ’s everlasting love for his Bride is a reminder to hold on in our relationships and give them time. If you have invested in a marriage or a friendship, don’t be quick to write it off if there is trouble. Patience is part of the sacrifice Christ was talking about: forgiving a loved one whose behavior is less than loving. His or her heart might soften if you wait a little while or take the risk and find out why things have gone wrong, even if this exposes where you have fallen short. In cases of abuse, however, it is loving to take a break for your safety and to let that other person see the consequences of his or her actions or neglect.
3. We are loved by God and should, therefore, love ourselves. Do not be tempted to settle for a relationship that feels wrong in some way because you want to fill a void in your life, or because you believe it will soon be too late. Self-love in the Christian sense is not egotistical or self-involved but is a simple awareness, as one writer explains, of “one’s worth rooted in being created by an eternal God, balanced with humility and sacrificial love toward others.” This is borne out by Matthew 22:39 and Jesus’ famous instruction to “love your neighbor as yourself”. His command ranks second only to this: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (v.37)
Reflect on tonight’s prayer and share how God met you there. Join the Your Nightly Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/KevinLeah
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