During a 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 absorbed the words and kept them in my heart.
loved with eternal love,
Guided by the grace of loving knowing.
Merciful Spirit from above,
You tell me that it is!
Oh, this content and precious peace!
Oh, all this transportation is divine!
In an unstoppable love,
I am his and he is mine.
In an unstoppable love,
I am his and he is mine.
The Heav’n above is a deeper blue.
The earth around is a sweeter green.
Something is alive in every shade
I have never seen eyes without Christ.
Birds sing and flow.
Froze shines with a deeper beauty.
As I know, as I now know,
I am his and he is mine.
As I know, as I now know,
I am his and he is mine.
Enjoy the grace of the Lord.
Welcomed home by his embrace,
All his love is like a gush of blood,
Seal the forgiveness of God’s grace.
Can I doubt his love for me?
What if you traced the pattern of love?
by the cross of calvary
I am his and he is mine.
I am his and he is mine.
His eternity, only him!
Who will the Lord and I part with?
Oh, what a blissful rest
Christ fills the heart of love!
Heaven and earth may disappear,
The light that was first born in darkness fades.
But as long as God and I are together,
I am his and he is mine.
I am his and he is mine.
But then I was convicted. Do I really believe these words that reflect God’s promises? Unfortunately, the answer is no. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has a hard time believing that God loves me, especially when life isn’t going well, but somehow I connect that confusion to whether or not I am worthy of God’s love.
Develop faith in God’s love in all circumstances with the help of this hymn’s lyrics and God’s Word.
I believe in love even in silence
Can a woman forget her nursing baby? Even if they forget, I will never forget you. Isaiah 49:15-16
I always love scriptures about the Holy Spirit. “The wind blows where it wants, and we hear it, but we do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So do all who are born of the Holy Spirit. John 3:8 Whether you are someone who has experienced a very clear rebirth story, or you are someone like me who doesn’t know the exact date or time, but through fresh wisdom and life changes, I have the confidence that the Holy Spirit will be born without a doubt.”Again, our rebirth itself begins in silence. This miraculous act performed in a secret location does not make it any less true.
We see how our hearts have been reformed to the mind of Christ. Sins that were once so easy to commit are now painful to us. We choose the things of God over the things of the world. We are now “hearing” the Holy Spirit directing our path.
But did you know? The Holy Spirit doesn’t just convict. He continually reminds us of God’s promises. The Spirit reassures us that indeed we are God’s and God is ours. It reminds our thoughts of how God loved us and still loves us. But somehow we don’t “hear” this. When we get too caught up in our “beliefs” through guilt and shame, we drown out the “voice” of the Holy Spirit and the truth of God’s love for us.
To develop faith in God even in silence, we must remember: “For I am convinced that there is nothing, neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things that are nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in creation.”
It can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. ” Romans 8:38-39 Just as we cannot forget our children, the Lord who not only chose us to be His children, but also suffered and died so that we could live with Him forever, can never forget us and how much He loves us.
A good reminder to continue cultivating faith in God’s love, especially in silence, is to remember the time I took off on a plane on a cloudy day. that
It was so gloomy and dark outside that it seemed like the sun had disappeared, but when we rose through the clouds, suddenly the plane was bathed in sunlight, and the top of the clouds was bright, white, and fluffy. The sun was always there! The same goes for the Lord. Even if you feel silent, the Lord is shining brightly and working in the invisible places. You don’t have him in mind. His love is eternal.
Even if you believe in the truth, it doesn’t always seem like it.
For we walk by faith and not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7
Have you ever wished you had lived in the Old Testament, when God’s presence was clouds by day and fire by night, or when Jesus walked the earth and spoke to God face to face? Having faith in God and Jesus right in front of you would seem so much easier. For the Israelites, that was easier said than done. As things got worse, they started to get suspicious. I’m sure even the disciples had moments of doubt, especially at the moment of the cross, yet Jesus spent hours preparing for what was to come. Apparently, they didn’t believe the truth at first.
Humans definitely fall into the “if you don’t see it, you won’t believe it” category. Or, “Unless you saw it happen, it didn’t happen.” But when we think of love, even in the earthly sense, it is not a concrete object in front of us. It’s based on emotion, how a person makes you feel. The extent to which they will do it for you. The gift they gave you. Actions that match words of love. We seem to have no problem believing in “invisible” human love. So why do we have a hard time trusting the truth of Jesus’ love when we don’t “see” it?
We need to “search” for God’s love, but is it really that hard to find it? No, not at all, but we are all guilty of not always trusting truths we cannot see. So how can we develop trust in truths that we cannot always see? We read and believe the Bible. We ask the Holy Spirit to reveal God’s love to the page and let it soak in His beautiful words. There are certainly many hymns like the ones I introduced earlier that sing about God’s love. There’s something about music that embeds words in our memory. Sing about God’s love all day long. And as in the second verse of the hymn above, when we look at the world with eyes that see through God’s love, we see God’s love woven into the beautiful nature that God has created for us to enjoy.
Your life itself is a testimony of God’s love. Look back in your mind’s eye at how God has been faithful to you, how He has protected you, provided for you, helped you, encouraged you, and comforted you. The list goes on. These truths may not be “visible” to your facial senses, but they are certainly visible when you look to the truths that speak across the pages of God’s love and are evidenced throughout our lives.
Rest in the promise that he is mine
“We have come to know and believe the love of God.” 1 John 4:16
Whether you remember being deeply loved by someone or remembering the nine months you held your precious baby and felt his gentle kicks, you know what love feels like. A man’s or a woman’s love changes us. Our faces light up knowing that love. When we’re having a bad day, we remember the people who love us and look forward to being with them again. Indeed, holding a baby for nine months and feeling the life stirring inside of you can turn any bad day into a good one as you feel a constant reminder of the love that continues to grow within you.
How much God loves us! No one has died for us, but Jesus did. No one has ever sacrificed themselves to torture or excruciating death to be with us forever. Not to mention the fact that every good and perfect gift we receive on earth is from the Lord. God’s love is shown to us with every breath we take, in every way we are loved, with every beautiful sunrise. No one loves us like the Lord.
When we habitually rest in God’s promises, we develop the faith to believe in and accept God’s love no matter what happens in our lives. Our faces reflect the love of Christ. If we are having a bad day, we can remember God’s promises to encourage us and remind us of His love. When you get home, you can look forward to spending time in the Word (with the Lord). We can walk knowing that the Holy Spirit lives within us and feel His “gentle kick” reminding us of God’s great love for us no matter what we are facing.
“…Oh, what a blissful rest Christ fills a loving heart! Heaven and earth may pass away, and the primordial light may fade in darkness; but as long as God and I remain, I am his, and he is mine; I am his, and he is mine.”
Dear Heavenly Father, help me to develop faith in your love. Remove every lie and fill it with the truth of your love.
Are you struggling with your faith in God’s love?
Why do you think that? And how can you change that mindset?
Photo credit: Unsplash/Artem Kovalev
Karen Dell Tattoo is a blogger, author, women’s ministry leader, pastor’s wife, mother, and grandmother who is passionate about God’s Word. Her blog, “Growing Together in Grace and Knowledge,” and her books, “Choosing to Trust God: Breaking the Habit of Worry,” “A 30-Day Devotional,” and “Choosing to Trust God Companion Journal,” reveal her heart offering biblical insights to inspire women to grow in, through, and overcome hardship. Karen and her husband live in Rhode Island and enjoy walking in the woods, petting owls, and spending time with their grandchildren.
