God loves you right now, JUST AS YOU ARE!
I have heard our walk with God described as something that is simple, but not easy. I have personally found that to be true in my own personal relationship with Him. Having faith in general falls right into this category. The gospel makes perfect sense. Every word of it lines up with the very nature of who we are. So many of us know that Jesus came to save us from our sins, but have trouble living in a way that is consistent with that belief.A very obvious example of this would be when Simon Peter attempted to walk on water. Jesus told Peter that he could do it, and Peter showed that he believed Jesus when he stepped out of the boat. However, once the wind and the waves drove fear into Peter’s heart, his faith was shaken and he began to sink. Cognitively, Peter knew that Jesus would not have told him to get out of the boat if he couldn’t walk on that water. However, the circumstances surrounding Peter complicated an otherwise simple promise.
The same is true for all of us who try to walk in God’s promises daily. In fact, the simplest promises can often be the most difficult to live out. Probably the most basic and life changing promise of the gospel is that God loves us UNCONDITIONALLY. The definition of unconditional is NOT limited by conditions; ABSOLUTE. It is not based on any conditions whatsoever. Therefore, if God loves us unconditionally, it is safe to say that He loves you right now JUST AS YOU ARE! Even as I write this, I am battling thoughts in my mind that are trying to combat this truth. My mind, like that of so many others, tries to remind me of all those times where I made mistakes and didn’t feel like God loved me. My mind wants to remind me of the mistakes I made yesterday and even this morning, and then it wants to follow up those reminders with, “God may love you, but He would love you MORE if you hadn’t screwed up.”Some people may read that and think that I am just mixed up and crazy. However, something tells me that a lot of people read that and think, “Yeah, that sounds about right.” God’s word tells us that God showed His love for us by sending Christ to die for us when we still sinners (Romans 5:8), not when we were on our best behavior and following all of God’s commands perfectly. Think about how powerful that is if we begin to walk in it.Like so many others, I have battled through some major sin issues in my life. I have fought through addictions and destructive thought patterns. During every one of those battles, there was no victory until I had a revelation of how much God loved me. The revelation of God’s love never came after I had found a way to will myself to victory, but it always came just before the victory. The word tells us that there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus (Romans 8: 1). In Christ Jesus, there is only victory. Our job is to put ourselves in a place to consistently receive that victory and walk in it. Our job is not to earn it.Today, you might be fighting through something. Maybe it is something that you have been trying to overcome for years. You could be stuck in a cycle of feeling like God loves you more on your good days, and less on your bad days. The secret to your breakthrough is realizing that His love for you doesn’t change. In fact, Jesus died for all of us on our worst day. Lean into His grace, and let His love for you not only give you hope, but also be the power that breaks those chains that are holding you back. God loves you JUST AS YOU ARE!