Trusting God’s Love
by Rev. Susan Britton
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. – Ephesians 3:19
Read
Ephesians 3:16-19 (NLT)
Reflect
When I was in college, a series of events did not go exactly as I had thought they were going to go. As a result, I found myself furious with God. So one evening, late at night, I prayed, “God stay away from me. I don’t want anything to do with you anymore.”
The next day was a beautiful fall day. Red, orange, and yellow leaves sparkled against a brilliant blue sky. Yet, there was an emptiness in my spirit that had never been there before. A deafening silence echoed in my soul. God was answering my prayer.
As I walked back to my apartment, I prayed, “Ok God. You win. I need you. I can’t live without you. But just so you know… I can’t trust you.”
Immediately, an almost audible voice, gently but firmly replied, “If you really believed I loved you, you wouldn’t have any problem trusting me. But if you don’t believe I love you, you can’t have any part of me… because I am love.”
I stopped mid-stride. “Ok God,” I whispered back, “you win.” And the emptiness was gone.
That truth has followed me since that day, and this same truth is why there is comfort in the promise that God is with us. If God were only powerful, all-knowing, just, jealous, or any other attribute – and was not loving – that promise would not hold the same comfort. But God is love. Therefore, we can say with peace and confidence: the best of all is, God is with us.
How does knowing God loves you more than you can imagine, help you to trust Him?
Respond
Dear Father, give us the power to understand how wide, how long, how high, and how deep your love is. Help us to experience the love of Christ so that we can be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Amen.
Remember
Where have you experienced God’s love for you today?
Thank you for sharing your struggle. Many years ago I experienced a similar event that changed my life dramatically. I attempted suicide and Jesus stood at my bedside saying, “Child I am not finished with you yet.” My mantra: “God is closer than the air in my lungs, the blood in my veins, & the skin on my bones grew out out of that. I experience God’s love in everything around me from the sunrise to the sunset and even into the sleep He provides. Again, thank you.
I must admit that I have trouble comprehending God’s love for me.. In part because its me. Not that remarkable, kinda ordinary, too many mistakes, too many periods of doubt. What’s there really to love? And then I remember one dark night of the soul when my brother-in-law told me that God loved David and he was not a real model. Liberating words to be sure. Second, I really don’t think it is within my capacity understand the depth of a love that emanates from the creator God. I know deep within that any conception I can come up really falls short. I am left with pale approximations – my love of my wife, my love of my sons. Yet, I am not sure that captures the quality of God’s love.
To be truthful what I am seeing, at first, does not seem to be God’s love. Tonight our son called to say our van had stopped and it needed to be towed. He thinks it is the fuel pump. Well, this was one more thing on the list of problems we have had with cars. My thought is how are we going to get car fixed because funds are limited. Then it dawned on me, probably God’s small verse, we have money from our income tax saved along with a little extra, which we were saving to buy a car and hopefully make a trip to Florida. Not what we want to do with it, but God apparently knew better than us and showed me his love by reminding me that I did have the means to have car repaired.
This is great, Susan. Thank you!