The thing about being loved…
Is that you don’t always feel loved.
I think my life has 3 kinds of days
1. My everyday life – maybe you run in to the odd person who brightens your day or receive the odd phone call from a friend, but generally, it’s not extraordinary – it’s just quite ordinary. But when you know the love of Jesus, suddenly the ordinary becomes extraordinary – and that’s kind of your baseline. That’s what you expect everyday. An extraordinary ordinary day because of God’s love.
2. Day two is the kind of day where I’m surrounded by people who love me deeply. They’re the kind of people who encourage and support you, who push you to be your best and who outwardly approve of you. In a sense, these are the people who make manifest God’s love for us. The way in which they love us is the best way we receive love. On these days, when we go to bed, we know what it is to be loved by God BECAUSE of these people’s love. We declare with ease that God loves us, because He has sent these people as a physical reminder of His love. These are some of the best days.
3. And then there’s day 3. These are the harder days. These are the days when you encounter people in a different way. There’s nothing to say they don’t love you – they probably do. But sometimes we don’t understand love in the way they express it. Sometimes their brokenness comes in the way of them loving us perfectly and we feel hurt, lonely, misunderstood. We almost feel worthless. We wonder why they don’t treat us as though we’re special, important, valued, cherished. These aren’t like day 1 or day 2. No, day threes are the days when, before we go to bed, we have to declare in truth that we are still perfectly loved. That our value as human beings has not changed. That we are precious and beautiful and loved. We have to remind ourselves that this was just a day 3, and tomorrow will be a day 1 or 2, and even if it’s not, it doesn’t matter. Because on day 3s, God makes His love manifest. His Holy Spirit comes alive and comforts our spirits. These are the days when the devil tries to break our spirits, to make us believe that we aren’t daughters and sons of the King. These are the days when we find ourselves vulnerable and tempted to believe that our value is defined by those around us. And so it is vital that whenever a day three is thwarting our hearts, we declare in truth that never has anyone been loved the way we are loved, that we claim God’s love and we allow His arms to consume us as we listen to His heart beat once again.
