During church service this weekend, I heard, for the first time, a very beautiful hymn by George W. Robinson, entitled "I Am His, and He Is Mine." Instead of singing along, I soaked up the words, carrying them close to my heart…
Loved with everlasting love,
led by grace that loves to know;
gracious Spirit from above,
Thou dost teach me it is so!
O this full and precious peace!
O this transport all divine!
In a love which cannot cease,
I am His, and He is mine.
In a love which cannot cease,
I am His, and He is mine.
Heav'n above is deeper blue;
earth around is sweeter green;
something lives in ev'ry hue
Christless eyes have never seen.
Birds with gladder songs o'erflow;
flow'rs with deeper beauties shine;
Since I know, as now I know,
I am His, and He is mine.
Since I know, as now I know,
I am His, and He is mine.
Taste the goodness of the Lord:
welcomed home to His embrace,
all His love, as blood outpoured,
seals the pardon of His grace.
Can I doubt His love for me,
when I trace that love's design?
By the cross of Calvary
I am His, and He is mine.
I am His, and He is mine.
His forever, only his!
Who the Lord and me shall part?
Ah, with what a rest of bliss
Christ can fill the loving heart!
Heav'n and earth may fade and flee,
firstborn light in gloom decline;
But while God and I shall be,
I am His, and He is mine.
I am His, and He is mine.
Yet afterward, I was convicted. Do I truly believe these words that echo the promises of God? Sadly, the answer is no. I assume I am not alone in struggling to believe that God could love me, especially when life gets messy, and I somehow tie that messiness to whether I am worthy of God’s love.
With the help of the lyrics of this hymn and God’s Word, let’s cultivate a faith that believes in God’s love in all circumstances.
Believing Love Even in the Silence
Can a woman forget her nursing child…? Even if they may forget, yet I will not forget you. Isaiah 49:15-16
I’ve always loved the verse about the Holy Spirit, which says, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. John 3:8 Whether you’ve had a very obvious born-again story or you are someone like me who doesn’t know the exact date or time, BUT through fresh wisdom and life changes, has the assurance that without a shadow of a doubt, she is born again, our very regeneration begins in silence. This miraculous act done in a secret place does not make it any less true…
We see how our minds have been reformed to the mind of Christ. Those sins that once before came so easily are now grievous to us. We choose the things of God rather than the things of the world. We now “hear” the Holy Spirit as He directs us in the way we should go.
But do you know? The Holy Spirit doesn’t just convict; He continually reminds us of the promises of God. The Spirit reassures us that indeed we are God’s and He is ours. He brings to our thoughts the ways God has loved us and loves us still. Yet somehow, we don’t “hear” this. When we are too caught up in our own “beliefs” through guilt or shame, we snuff out the “voice” of the Holy Spirit and the Truth of God’s love for us.
To cultivate a faith that believes God even in the Silence, we must remember “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will
be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 Just like we CANNOT forget our own children, the Lord, who not only chose us to be His, BUT suffered and died so that we could live with Him eternally, will NEVER forget us or how much He loves us.
A good reminder to continually cultivate a faith that believes in God’s love, especially in the silence, is to think about the time you took off in a plane on a cloudy day. It
appeared that the sun was gone with how dreary and dark it was outside, yet as you rose through the clouds, suddenly your plane was bathed in sunshine, and the tops of the clouds were bright, white, and fluffy. The sun was always there! It is the same with the Lord. Even if He feels silent, the Lord is shining brightly and working in the unseen places. You are NOT on His mind. His love is eternal.
Trusting the Truth, We Cannot Always See
For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7
Have you ever wished you had lived during the Old Testament, when God’s presence was a cloud by day and a fire by night, or when Jesus walked the earth, and you could talk to Him face to face? It would seem so much easier to have faith in God/Jesus right in front of you. For the Israelites, that was easier said than done. When things got rough, they began to doubt. I would say even the disciples had their moments of doubt, especially at the crucifixion, and yet Jesus spent hours preparing them for what was to come. Apparently, they still hadn’t trusted the Truth in the beginning, anyway.
Humans definitely fall in the category of “I have to see it to believe it.” Or “unless I see it happen, it didn’t happen”. Yet when you think about love, even in an earthly sense, it isn’t a tangible object that you see in front of you; it is based on feelings, how a person makes you feel. The extent they will go for you. Gifts they have given you. Actions matching their words of love. We don’t seem to have a problem believing in human love that is not “visible”. So why do we struggle to trust the Truth of Jesus' love when we don’t “see” it?
Because we need to “look” for God’s love, is it really that hard to find?? No, not at all, but we are all guilty of not trusting the Truth we cannot always see. So how do we cultivate a trust that believes the Truth we cannot always see? We read the Bible, and we believe. We ask the Holy Spirit to show us God’s love on the pages, and we let those beautiful words soak in. There are certainly plenty of hymns that sing about the love of God, like the one I shared earlier. There’s something about music that implants words into our memory. Throughout the day, sing about the love of God. And like the second stanza of our hymn above, when we look at the world through eyes that see everything through the love of God, we see His love woven into the beautiful nature He has created for us to enjoy.
Your very life is a testimony of God’s love. Review in your mind’s eye ALL the ways God has been faithful to you, how He’s protected you, provided for you, helped you, encouraged you, comforted you. The list goes on and on. These Truths might not be “visible” to your face sense, BUT they are certainly noticeable when we look to the Truth that speaks throughout its pages of Divine Love and is evidenced throughout our lives.
Resting in the Promise He is Mine
“We have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.” 1 John 4:16
Whether you recall being loved deeply by someone or remember the nine months you carried your precious baby and felt their gentle kicks, you know what love “feels” like. The love of a man or a woman changes us. Our faces shine from the knowledge of that love. When we are having a bad day, we remember who loves us and look forward to being with them again. Certainly, carrying a baby for nine months and feeling the life move within can turn any bad day into a good one, as we feel the constant reminder of love growing inside us.
How much more does God love us! No man has died for us, but Jesus did! No one has sacrificed themselves to the point of torture and an excruciating death, so that they could be with us for all eternity! Let alone the fact that every good and perfect gift we receive on earth comes from the Lord! God’s love is shown to us through every breath we take, in every way that we are loved, with every beautiful sunrise. NO ONE could ever love us the way the Lord does.
When we habitually rest in the promises of God, no matter what is going on in our lives, we will cultivate a faith that believes in God’s love and accepts it. Our faces will show the love of Christ. If we are having a bad day, we can recall a promise of God that encourages us and reminds us of His love. We can look forward to spending time in the Word (with the Lord) when we get home. We can walk in the knowledge that the Holy Spirit resides in us and feel His “gentle kicks,” reminding us of God’s great love for us, no matter what we are facing.
“…Ah, with what a rest of bliss; Christ can fill the loving heart! Heav'n and earth may fade and flee, firstborn light in gloom decline; But while God and I shall be, I am His, and He is mine. I am His, and He is mine.”
Dear Heavenly Father, Help me to cultivate a faith that believes your love. Remove any lie and fill it with the Truth of your Love.
Do you struggle with a faith that believes in God’s love?
Why do you think you do, and how can you change that mindset?
Photo credit: Unsplash/Artem Kovalev
