My 5-year-old daughter is very sensitive to discipline. If you raise your voice, lower your tone, or enact a discipline she typically has a reaction. Her reaction is not always reasonable as she will say things like, “I guess you don’t want to see me anymore” or “I guess you don’t care about me” or “I guess you just don’t love me.” My wife and I typically have the same reaction. We will say, “You are the only one saying those things. Of course, we love you and want to see you and of course, we care about you.”
When God allows hardship in our lives or especially when God disciplines us for our actions, we can have the same reaction and say similar things. “I guess you don’t love me anymore.” “I guess you don’t care about me.” “I guess you don’t want to see me.” I wonder if God sometimes responds the same way as my wife and I… YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE SAYING THOSE THINGS.
What I am saying, through the cross, is that you are more loved than you can imagine.
What I am saying, through the resurrection, is that there is more power available to you then you than you realize.
What I am saying, through my holy spirit, is that there is joy, hope, and peace available to you, despite your circumstances.
Understanding His love for us becomes a lens through which we can view hardship and discipline. That lens will help us to see our world in a new and different way. We will see God, our circumstances, and our hardship more clearly. Our faith will increase along with our peace. But it starts with a very basic idea…God loves me.
Encourage, Challenge, and Equip 