Thank you for joining us for the Devotional Spoken For Blog Tour! Robin and I are taking turns posting daily devotionals, going deeper into each chapter of Spoken For. We would love for you to study these truths with us and post in the comment section as we are all reminded that we are truly spoken for by our Relentless Lover! If you’d like to order Spoken For click here. 
A few weeks ago I had a rough day. Rough. I don’t know if it was my hormones going crazy (oh hey pregnancy!), fears taking over, or a full on attack from Satan. I cried throughout the day, preached truth to myself and prayed, and then fell right back into the dark. I felt like I was in a pit and couldn’t get out. I was too weak to get out of it on my own. I needed my husband to pray over me, hold me, and ask me how I was doing every hour. Thank you Lord for a patient man. My mom was bringing me before the Lord, reminding me of scripture. It was a battle.
And the battle was that I was doubting God’s love for me. How could He love me? How could anyone love me? I’m going crazy. I’m irritable. Sensitive. Crying every hour. Who would want to love me? My mind sank further and further into the pit. The Lord, in His ever faithfulness, did lift me from the pit- but truly it was Him alone that pulled me up. All I could do was keep crying out to Him, and ask others to help me through prayer and speaking truth to my weary heart and mind. The Lord was near, held me close, and brought me rest.
Have you ever had a day like that? Or a season? I’ve had plenty of days like that, although that one may take the cake.
As believers, we grow up hearing of how much the Lord loves us. We sing the songs at church, we read the verses. We know we are loved. And yet, how many of us actually believe it? Actually let it penetrate our lives, sink into our hearts and change us? How many of us live differently in light of that truth?
Since I was a little girl, I’ve known this truth. However, somewhere along the way I got it twisted and believed that I had to do so much in order for God to love me. Oh yes, I knew He loved me so much that He saved me, but I thought I had to earn His love from here on out. I couldn’t let Him down. Often I looked to others to tell me I’m loved- my parents, friends, teachers, a boyfriend. And yes, we should be loved by those in our lives. But it’s one thing to be loved, and another to need that love; to put our hope, fulfillment and identity in their love. People will let us down. They can’t love us unconditionally as Jesus does because we’re imperfect people. We’re all learning what love looks like- and we can only fully know by looking at our Savior.
Love is giving. It’s giving of our selves, our time, our energy, our thoughts, our service, etc. It’s laying down our lives for another. It’s denying self, and putting another above ourselves. It’s wanting the highest good for another, whatever the cost. It’s not based on emotions, what the other person can do for us, or the butterfly feeling we hear about in Disney movies. Love is real. Steadfast. Unconditional. Forever. Honest. Patient. Kind.
And that love is found in Jesus. He is love. And he loves us. With a mighty, never ending love. And He loves you. Stop right there. Read it again. Let it sink in. He loves you. He has given His life for you. His love for you does not ebb and flow, but is constant- it’s based on Him and His character, not on you and what you do or don’t do. You don’t have to earn His love or win His favor. He loves you because He loves you- you are His child, you’re in the family- He’s not your boss, but your Father.
How would your life look differently today if you really took the truth that God loves you to heart? How would it change your thoughts, actions, and day?
God loves you, more than you will ever know. Let’s cling to that truth; may it be our shield as we go out today.
Check out Spoken For here.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
I knew God love me but im not true to his law I’m seeking my boyfriends to me what I should do
I love this. The two statements which really stuck out to me were:
“But it’s one thing to be loved, and another to need that love; to put our hope, fulfillment and identity in their love. People will let us down. ”
It’s such a simple truth- yet I’m just now realizing what that means personally in my life.
And
“I knew He loved me so much that He saved me, but I thought I had to earn His love from here on out. I couldn’t let Him down.”
I slip into that mentality as well. As if, as silly as this sounds, grace could be earned…
I cannot wait to read Spoken For.
Wow! What beautiful words. What an amazing reminder. What perfect timing for my soul to hear this truth.
Thank you for sharing this, Alyssa!! I have been very in need of a reminder of this truth lately. God is so good! I love how He sends things our way in the exact moments we need them.
I can’t wait to start reading Spoken For, once it finally gets delivered!! 🙂
Blessings!
Ashley
Thank you for writing this well need truth. Over the 7 years I was at my last chruch I put all of my hope rest that these people were my family and I would not go to another church. Sadly that didn’t work out my mom and dad had other plains. We left that church about 6 months ago and with that has been super hard for me cause I lost what I’d put everything in.
it iss so hard for me at times to grasp this i grew up wanting to go to church but was never alowd. when i was 17 i started going and loved but i have alwaysed strugled being aroud every one who grew up going to church i always felt out of place but new i was loved by god but was not shure if i was fully accepted. now years later im not not shur about anythig what god has alowd into my lif the one person i thought was for me left after 15 years of marege and now a singal mum of thre from teens to tweens i find if some one could not love me how can god love me i just donot know what i can do i have problems keeping focus on reading my bible for me i rather be singing prases to god then reading and trying to pray eve nthow i think i pray wrong it hard for me to put in to words and thoughts in what you wrote but what i wrote here
Hi Tammy,
Sweetheart, there is no such thing as praying wrong. You don’t have to know the right words, you don’t have to say it just so, you don’t have to be perfect when talking to God. He knows your heart inside and out, he knows exactly what you’re saying even when the words come out all wrong. He’s your Daddy, and loves you more than anyone in the entire world could ever love another. I’m so sorry you have had to go through losing your husband. I’m so sorry for that hurt and burden on your heart. And I’m sorry that the church has made you feel out of place. I didn’t grow up in church either, and I didn’t meet Jesus until I was 21. I felt like I knew nothing, and was so far behind, just as you said, but I asked my friends who loved Jesus too for help, and through them, wonderful bloggers who love Jesus too (see http://www.goodmorninggirls.org/ and http://womenlivingwell.org/–great ones especially for moms) I learned how to read the Bible in a way that worked for me. There are so many reading plans out there to help you get started–it can be hard to know what to read if you just open the book, but having a plan helps so much.
I preordered Alyssa and Robin’s book months ago, and can’t wait for it to get here–I think it will be wonderful for ALL women to read. Treat yourself a little and get the book. It’s important to take care of yourself sometimes, too!
Know you are loved, through all the pain, and all your imperfections. You don’t have to be perfect to be loved by the Lord. He made you, he knows you, and he’ll never let you go.
thank you for what you said it meant a lot to me iam going to check out the sites and iam defiantly going to get the book I thik it will be a great help for me
I want to thank you so much for writing Spoken For. I was able to get a review copy of it, and immediately the book pointed out areas that I hadn’t learned, or thought of yet. The two of you definitely showed me that I am loved by the Creator! Which I often forget. It was amazing and touching to learn all of the things that God says to us. I loved that you put study questions at the end of each chapter, as well as a list of encouraging words/sayings that are in His word. May the two of you continually be blessed, and I know that this book will definitely be a blessing to women of all ages.
In Christ,
Soleil
Thank you Alyssa. Two months ago my boyfriend broke up with me after almost two years of a dream come true. Ever since then I have felt lonely and unloved, like there was something wrong with me. I always knew God loved me but I would question him, even get mad, saying “if you loved me why did you take my boyfriend away from me?” But now I see I’ve been selfish and not realizing what God has done because he loves me. Forgetting that the pain He endured on the cross is far worse than the pain I feel now. Thank you for reminding me what love is. I’ve been searching for it in the wrong place. It’s not a guy that makes me feel loved, it should be God because His love is the only love that won’t let me down
I seem to be in a season. A season where I can’t be enough for anyone including myself. I’m taking a step back and evaluating my life and what I can let go but with kids 21 mos to 13 there’s a ton of demand and little support. Its hard. Life is hard. God is good. Even though I lay my head on the oil low to pray & fall asleep, God doesn’t hate me for that. I’m sure he wishes I could just stay awake but I’m sure he’s thankful I attempt to come to HIM at the end of my busy day. I could be running to a lot of other stuff. I don’t spend as much time in prayer or study as I should. Its a huge fault of mine but he still loves me. All took often tho I forget he loves me. I even say nobody cares so why should I. That’s a lie from Satan BC if God didn’t care I wouldn’t know how to live. Sometimes the rug has to be pulled out from under our feet to deepen our trust and reliance on him. Wish it didn’t work that way but it does. To the previous poster I hear your frustrations & uncertainties and that is why its so important to have sisters in Christ. They can lift you before the throne of God in prayer when you just can’t get there yourself. While everything feels so uncertain and chaotic, look back at the places God has seen you through before & know he’s gonna do it again dear friend!!!
Ah! Alyssa I feel like you’re my soul sister. I go through periods of time feeling the exact same way (non-preggers!). Women are wired to do pretty much everything with emotion and I’ve had ladies come to me for help saying: “I’m depressed. I just can’t seem to turn my brain off.” It’s so comforting for women to share when they feel this way so that we know we’re not alone. I always remind them that you have the choice to speak to yourself in a positive or a negative way (I know that doesn’t always work against biological entities), but if you remind yourself that God is with you, for you, and loves you every day; it helps immensely. With that being said, it’s still OK to have bad days. It’s ok to forget and have doubts, because He WANTS to remind you. It’s funny how for others, I can speak the Truth about God’s love for them, but then I’ll have a day myself where I’m just like “I’m lost! I’m so alone!” when I KNOW I’m not. And then He reminds me in a way that only I will hear it and then I just feel silly for crying an entire day. (But I still feel it’s necessary to have a good cry once in a while.) Feeling God’s love, and believing He really does love you more than anyone ever will and that He will take care of you, is like listening to Pharrell’s song “Happy” times a thousand. It’s truly amazing. I’ve been through a lot of hurt, rejection and betrayals. I’ve fallen, I’ve tried to go about things on my own, I’ve made mistakes and have compromised the values I stood for but didn’t follow through with…but He has never failed to pick me right back up. Even when I was defying His will and hurting myself by staying in a relationship that didn’t glorify Him, He still took my hand and led me right back to walk with Him. He embodies everything we yearn for, and I’m so thankful for His love and that I am spoken for 🙂
Alyssa you’re really like my soul sister!! You’ve no idea how much your heartfelt sharing has impacted me, and guess what? I too was going through a rough time the past couple of weeks due to the dreaded PMS and was totally an emotional wreck. My emotions are like a rollercoaster, skyrocket high one moment and valley deep the next. I don’t know who to look for comfort during that suffocating period, it felt as if my world turned pitch dark and everyone has forsaken me.
However during these times when you really need someone to talk to but no one is there, you realised that the only Faithful One, our lovely Savior is actually there all along..He never ever left my side, even when human agents fail me so badly, He is still there. His love so constant, unshakeable, firm and steadfast.
I discovered one truth, that people may love us when we have it altogether and strong, but abandon us when we fail and fall. Jesus is the only One who sticks with us for LIFE! He will never leave us when we fail/fall, He will never stop pursuing us despite our flaws and weaknesses. I’m glad I went through that to come to a conclusion: Even if I fall, Jesus will walk through every season and challenge with me. For He so loved me.
Instead of looking to people for love, I choose to look to Him. My friends may not treat me well, but God always treats me the best! He always listens, always cares and never judge!
I’m so thankful for Jesus, for without Him I’m completely nothing.