We have access to the Holy Spirit welling up in us like a spring. Tapping into Him requires deliberation and cooperation so God can love through us. Like me, you’ve probably asked Him to love through you, then fizzled out within the hour. Here’s the catch: we cannot love when we perceive ourselves as unloved.
We cannot offer to others what we don’t possess. Jude 21 says, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, expecting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.” That means practicing the mindset of being profusely loved by God. We must invite our souls to plunge into His love like a dolphin romping in the sea. Actively engaging in His unending, extravagant, no-strings-attached affection for you is not narcissism. It’s necessity. It can mean our survival when we’re faced with loving the loveless.
Consider also 1 Corinthians 13:13, penned by the same apostle, Paul: “Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.” Those comprise the three abiding priorities and enduring virtues of time and eternity. These facts alone earn each of them a distinct spot on the Enemy’s target. Anything God emphasizes, the Devil seeks to exterminate.
Let’s examine a short checklist:
- Are you in a season where faith feels like hard work? Yes or No
- Is loving laborious? Yes or No
- Is hope circling the drain as you keep longing and waiting? Yes or No
If you answered yes to all three questions, you’re under a triple threat. Satan can’t snatch faith, hope, and love from you. You have to hand them over.
When spiritual people are down to the dregs, we often grip tighter to what we have left: our legalism. We fill up the loss with the law. Don’t go there. Keep believing, hoping, and loving. All else is just existing.
This is an excerpt of the Beth Moore Bible study, Children of the Day. Read the first session FREE.
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