I Am So Grateful for God’s Love

by Toni Weisz/Abuse Recovery

Scritture: romani 5:5, 1 John 4:7, Ephesians 3:17-19, and Zephaniah 3:17

romani 5:5
Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

1 John 4:7
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

Ephesians 3:17-19
That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and the depth and height- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God, in your midst, the Mighty One will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, he will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

I want to share my journal entry from November 30, 2024. The Holy Spirit speaking to my heart said, “I will never make you grovel or beg for help; My love is extravagant.”

“Yes, it is Lord, and I am so grateful for that.”

The Lord said,
“My love is perfect.
My love is gentle.
My love is kind.
My love is compassionate.
My love builds up.
My love blesses others.
My love encourages.
My love is eternal.”

So many of us have a distorted view of God’s love because of the treatment and/or abuse we have received especially from those closest to us; those who were supposed to love, nurture, and protect us. We attribute these characteristics to God, and therefore, we think He is angry, harsh, abusive, and unapproachable, but that could not be furthest from the truth.

I believe our distorted view of God’s love causes us to look for it in other places, from all the wrong people; because as children, we are not mature enough to understand how fundamental love is in our emotional, fisico, and spiritual growth and development. It affects every aspect of our lives. We feel we are unworthy of love and that we are flawed and unlovable because of the way others have treated us in our past. The evil one wants us to believe that God does not love us.

So how do we replace our distorted view of God with the truth? Primo, we must be born-again; we must be a Christian, a child of God, because it’s the Holy Spirit of God Who helps us to know God and the truth from His Word. Second, we have to spend time with God in prayer and the reading of His Word. Just like any other relationship, it grows deeper with time spent together. Third, we must believe that God’s Word is truth and that He is love, and not our unkind or abusive family member. Fourth, we start meditating on His Word and the Holy Spirit helps us to start believing that truly we are precious in His sight and that we are His beloved children.

Once we receive God’s love into the innermost part of our being, we are changed forever. In my blog, “My Distorted View of God,” https://myashestobeauty.com/stinking-thinking-my-distorted-view-of-self-toni-weisz-abortion-recovery-and-abuse-support-group/, I talk about how the love of God changed me forever once I received His love in my heart. I no longer doubted; I truly believed I was loved by God. I was different; I no longer looked for another person to validate and affirm me because I was secure in God’s love for me. I did not have to perform or be perfect in order to be worthy enough to receive His love. I am loved simply because He created me and I am His child.

Questions to take to heart:

1. Did you grow up feeling loved and secure in that love?
2. Was it hard for you to believe that God loves you? Se è così, why?
3. Have you received God’s love in your heart? If not, what is preventing you from believing you are loved by Him?
4. How can we pray for you?

Dear One, I pray you too will receive God’s love in your heart. He loves you more than you can comprehend. He rejoices over you with gladness, He quiets you with His love, and He rejoices over you with singing (Ref. Zephaniah 3:17).

Please reach out if you need to talk. Feel free to email me: toni@myashestobeauty.com.

Sei amato,
Toni