Every Day Is Valentine’s Day!

IT’S A DAY WHEN RED ROSES grace businesses and homes, heart-shaped cards fill backpacks and in-boxes, chocolate calories don’t count, and restaurants have waiting lists. As a child, I viewed love through the lens of Valentine’s Day, something that’s celebrated once a year before life returns to normal.

I was twelve when I heard for the first time that God loved me. First John 4:10 gives us a beautiful picture of God’s love: “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” My decision to accept His great sacrifice of love on my behalf impacted my eternity, but for too many years, I doubted God’s love.

Bob and I made teaching our children about the love of God a priority. “God is love” (1 John 4:16) was the first verse they learned, and the second was “[God’s] banner over me is love” (Song of Solomon 2:4). The word banner in this verse comes from the Hebrew word dagal, meaning “to flaunt” or “raise a flag,” or, figuratively, “to be conspicuous.”^a Our love-starved world desperately needs to see a flag flaunting God’s conspicuous love for every one of us. The fact that our “love flags” often fly at half-mast or remain neatly folded signifies the enemy’s attempts to create doubts about our security in God’s love.

The focus of this devotion changed when I stopped writing so I could answer a call from a dear elderly woman. Years ago, her son was tricked by the enemy into believing that God no longer loved him, and he ended his own life. Even though he will see his family again in heaven, he will miss weddings, grandchildren, and opportunities to positively influence others’ lives. My friend called me because she was grieving and needed encouragement. I tread softly when I deal with this issue, but if you or someone you love struggles with doubting God’s love, you may need encouragement too!

None of us deserve God’s love, because we are all sinners. I’ve met with women who had a past that included lies, an affair, jail time, an abortion, substance abuse, and more. Each one needed help, healing, and the assurance that Jesus died for every sin she would ever commit. The enemy tries to deceive us into believing God can’t possibly love us because of something we’ve done. We can all fill in the blank. But God’s forgiveness removes our sins as far as the east is from the west (see Psalm 103:12), and He remembers them no more. He forgives, and He forgives again, and He never stops loving us. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

If you are dealing with hard things like depression or doubting God’s love, please get help from a Christian counselor. The absolute certainty of God’s love must replace wrong thinking. I still remember the day I let go of my doubts about God’s love. I was halfway through a women’s Bible study at church when our assignment included reading Isaiah 54:10: “‘The mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, and My covenant of peace will not be shaken,’ says the LORD who has compassion on you.” As I read the verse over and over, God’s compassion and love overwhelmed me, and at last I was able to relinquish my doubts about His unconditional love. I sensed unmistakable peace that although circumstances may change, God’s love for me would never be removed. I was finally free!

We may fail, but God’s love never fails (see 1 Corinthians 13:8). Only when we comprehend the depth of His love are we free to love ourselves and others (see 1 John 4:11).

Whether or not we receive expressions of love such as cards, flowers, and candy, our heavenly Father gives the greatest gift of all: His infinite love. Romans 8:38-39 tells us that nothing can ever separate us from His love. Nothing!

I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Remind yourself every day that God really loves you, and thank Him for His love. Fly your “love flag” high! Love is everyone’s greatest need, and those of us who have been impacted by God’s love are commissioned to serve as His ambassadors to share His love. Don’t wait for Valentine’s Day!

REFLECTION

What about yourself or your past makes you doubt God’s love for you? Look up verses about God’s love and write them down in a journal or in places where you will see them frequently. Choose one to memorize so the truth of God’s love is readily accessible. Review them whenever you begin to question whether God really loves you.