It’s Love Month here at Inspy Romance, and God’s been teaching me some challenging lessons about love! Both about what truly loving others means, and about His love. Especially, about going deeper into prayer and trust.
As some of you know, my husband has several health issues that make our life together a little more complicated. The heroine of my latest book, A Lesson in Love, included in the Love Blossoms boxed set, also has a life complicated by health issues.
A lovely reader who reviewed the story emailed me to say how much it made her think of a Bible verse I hadn’t included in the book, Proverbs 3:5-6.
The New International Version gives those verses as:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
My word for the year is “Surrender” which is very close to “submit”, the way the NIV translates what God asks us to do. But submitting and surrendering isn’t always easy, whether to God, or to the needs of others in our relationships.
I thought it was a rebellion thing. The not-yet-perfected part of me that still wants to resist God and rebel against Him. The “Me me me” part. I pray so often asking God to heal my stubborn nature and bring me into obedience to Him!
But it’s looking like God’s biggest lesson for me now isn’t as much about submitting and surrendering, as it is about trusting that when I do that, He will support me. It’s about allowing Him to support me. And also about allowing Him to provide that support through others.
God doesn’t mean for us to walk this life alone. Not all of us marry. Not all of us who marry have our happy-ever-afters in the way we dreamed of them. But God intends a life of love for us all. A life of giving love to others, and a life of receiving love from others.
That’s such a big part of His plan and purpose for us all. Maybe the biggest part.
Sarah, in A Lesson in Love, can give love, but she can’t accept it. God’s lesson for her is about letting in the love that’s so near to her.
I think He has the same lesson for us all.
At the start of the week, Sally asked us to think about who we needed to show more love to. Heather asked us “Are You Unlovable?” Good true questions. Hooking into those, I want to ask a different question today.
Where in your life might God be wanting you to let more love in? What parts of yourself do you resist believing God could really love? And where might He be wanting to use those around you to show how deep and wide and real His love is?
I pray, for me and for you, that like my heroine Sarah we discover that when we listen to God, and trust Him enough to surrender to Him, He fills us with His love. We can see the love that was there waiting for us all along.
Love is all around us. Love is always all around us.
Proverbs 3:5-6…one of my favorite verses, Autumn, and one that I meditate on often. I’m sorry to hear about your husband’s health issues. I’ll keep him and your family in my prayers.
I love and live for that bible verse along with Jeremiah 29:11. At the end of the day, we can not do it on our own and that’s why we must trust that God is our redeemer and he lives. So yes, we are all capable of love and being loved. That’s why it’s up to us to not let society causes us to harden our heart.
Thanks for sharing your blog and sorry to hear about your husband. I am sure your faith in God will make everything easier to handle.
I enjoyed your encouragement to let love in. I needed to remind myself of that. I had an abusive childhood and tend to assume I’m unloved, but the opposite is true. My husband and kids and friends all love and value me. How much more does our heavenly Father love us!?!
Thank you Jill! I appreciate that :)
Those are both comforting verses, Kaleen. God is so good to us! What you say about not allowing our hearts to be hardened by what happens in the world is so important and true. And 100% we can’t do it on our own. We are so used to thinking we need to try harder, do better, be more lovable, when what we really need to is stop struggling and open our hearts to God, who loves us so deeply and unconditionally.
Hugs Diana! It’s a lot more challenging to feel our Father God’s love when we didn’t experience that in our childhoods. So glad that you can feel that love all around you now.
God is reminding me I need to slow down and be still with Him and let it really soak in.
Thank you for sharing. Your post could have been written by me, just not as well.
When my husband was diagnosed with cancer near our son’s 9th birthday, I struggled. It took me some time to get to a better place and to surrender him and our future as a family. I don’t know why some things happen, but I find comfort knowing that God does. I fall back on 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. We were able to help support another couple walking a similar path around the same time.
When our then 11 year old son was heading into surgery at 1 AM one Sunday morning a few years ago to have his appendix removed, I was more quickly able to surrender him to God.
Today, I continue to be thankful that my family is intact – Praise be to God. I also trust that if these situations had turned out differently, God would have a plan for my life to His honor and glory.
The enemy of our souls can keep us out of the Light if we believe the lie that we are unlovable and unloved. It may be one of his simplest and most effective tactics. I know God has been teaching me a lot about His love in the past year, and it keeps spilling out in my stories, too. It’s a message we all desperately need to hear, embrace, and be saturated in.
Thanks, Autumn.
I read A Lesson in Love last week and really appreciated that you highlighted what could be called the “worse” of “for better or for worse” but also that there can be love and joy in the hard places.
You are right. Love is all around us. I can see God’s love for us in His creations. Birds singing, tree frogs making their sounds, children laughing, snowflakes falling, conversations with family and friends and so much more. God loves us so very much and gives us the most incredible blessings of love for us to enjoy. :-)
Praising God that your family came through those trials!
That’s something he’s been teaching me, that His plan and purpose for
me is perfect. Of course, sometimes I don’t see that until later! ;)
The thing I’m only just STARTING to learn is the truth in these verses
below. When I can get out of the “Why us, God?” thoughts and keep
trusting God as I surrender to whatever is happening, I DO feel that
joy. It’s quite amazing! LOL, I’m sitting here grinning as I write,
feeling it right now!
These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is
strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests gold and purifies
it—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold; so if
your faith remains strong after being tried in the test tube of fiery
trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day
of his return.
You love him even though you have never seen him; though not seeing
him, you trust him; and even now you are happy with the inexpressible
joy that comes from heaven itself.
1 Peter 1: 7-8 TLB
So right, Valerie! If it’s not love, it probably comes from the enemy of love.
Thanks Katy! I think Fraser and Sarah had to be willing to accept the worst before they could come through to the better. Something I find in my marriage, too. Hopefully book 4 in the series (due before Christmas!) will show a little of their “better”! :)
He does, Melissa. He’s blessed us with so much to help us know love and joy in this world. :)
Yes, thank you, you are right. James lays it all out so well. As our Pastor says – You are loved. The God of the Universe held nothing back to bring you back to him. I know I am loved, chosen and pursued and that brings such joy and peace.
Thanks for a beautiful post, Autumn! Sometimes I get so busy condemning myself for not being loving enough that I forget God has plenty of love to fill me up. I appreciate the reminder.
Wonderful!
Thanks Lee! I think we all fall in that particular trap. And while we’re busy condemning ourselves, we’re closing our hearts to God filling them with His love. LOL, or is that just me? ;)
I think that love is a complicated thing. Finding it in a a partner has been difficult for me.I do believe that God is always there for me though!
Too true, Linda! I know for sure God intends me to be with my husband, but staying in love is tough and very very complicated at times! Thankful for His presence to get us through the tough times. :)