My last blog declared God’s goodness in supplying needs and the joy of bathroom fixes, mold removal and watching God bring a team together to encourage and bless me. I admit I felt very selfish, and my friend Bill reminded me that I need to learn how to accept blessings. It does take faith to receive help.
As I said good bye to Bill Hinckley last week, I headed for Grants Pass, Oregon and the Spring Women’s Conference at All the World Christian Center. As I drove the 400 plus miles from Rosanna’s house to the church, it gave me time to reflect on God’s goodness. The theme for the conference was “Living Loved”. I felt loved and so cared for!
It is my heart that all of us learn to “Live Loved”. God would love it if we always remembered this great gift He bestows on us…as I steal a phrase from my friend, Jim Stephens, God loves me, not because I am good, but because He is good!
What a joy to remind these precious daughters that there is freedom from the critical inner voice (or the hostile judgmental advisor) that seeks to rob us of God’s peace, encouragement and words of Life.
The critical inner voice is that internal voice begun in our childhood that discourages us from understanding that we are accepted by God because of what He has done, not by any thing we have done. Mental assent of God’s love is quite different from the actual believing of it in a way that allows us to live loved. Living loved allows us to walk in confident courage that as we follow Jesus and His Heart–our lives will touch others with His compassion.
Living loved helps us see our selfishness, jealousy, anger and other works of the flesh found in Galatians 5 for what they are…living less than God’s best for us. Living loved helps us move past the pain of rejection and insecurities and really understand we are accepted and adopted into the family of God.
Living Loved allows us to experience the shalom of God. Shalom means so much more than peace–or the absence of hostility. It encompasses a sense of wholeness, completeness and a sense of well-being. It is the place where we can truly say, “it is well with my soul”. This is not always easy to understand or experience. Father, I ask you help us learn about your gift of living loved and the shalom your work on the cross purchased for each of us. I thank you for reminding us by your Spirit when we find ourselves living unloved. In Jesus Name, amen
Faith Encounters 