Tag Archives: God’s love

Dimensions of God’s Love

Dimensions of God’s Love title image

Dimensions of God’s Love

“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Ephesians 3:18-19 (NLT)

This past weekend we celebrated Valentine’s Day in the U.S. It’s a day to celebrate love. In keeping with the theme of the holiday, I had been reading and studying some scriptures on love. As I was reading some of the scriptures, something came to mind about the dimensions of God’s love as I read John 15:12.

“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” John 15:12 (NLT)

The phrase in this translation “in the same way I have loved you” stood out to me. I thought to myself, “In what way does God love us?” Then some verses in Ephesians 3 immediately came to mind about the dimensions of God’s love…

“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Ephesians 3:18-19 (NLT)

I also started thinking about how Paul was praying here that they (the people of Ephesus) would come to know, understand and experience God’s love firsthand for themselves. As I thought back to John 15:12, I had a recognition that we can’t fully love others the way God intended until we have fully recognized, become aware of, and/or known God’s love. We are called to KNOW and SHOW God’s love. However, we have to know God’s love first before we can love others properly.

4 Dimensions of God’s love: Wide, Long, High, and Deep

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Obedience to God Demonstrates Love and Trust

Obedience to God Demonstrates Love and Trust

Obedience to God Demonstrates Love and Trust

We’ve been talking a little bit lately about obedience to God—some of the whys, hows, warnings, and scripture resources (links to previous posts at the bottom). I think I’ve written more on obedience lately because I have a lot of that written in my journals (what I often reference when writing my posts). Since, I have a lot written in my journals, this probably means that God is really trying to get this point through my thick head!

If I’m being totally honest with you, I have to admit that I often struggle with obedience to God—at least immediate obedience. I tend to argue, push back, and fight a lot when God asks me to do something I don’t really want to do. You know…a lot like a toddler! Toddler Tracy, that’s me when it comes to obeying God! Does anyone else relate? I don’t know why I fight so much though because it ALWAYS works out better than I imagined in the end.

Unfortunately what it really boils down to is that I apparently don’t really trust God, and I’m definitely not demonstrating my love for him when I ignore him or am defiant. These were some painful convictions I recently had. I’ve learned through reading the bible and from some devotions/messages how our obedience to God proves that we love him and demonstrates our trust. Today I’d like to share some examples of those insights with you.

If you love me, obey my commandments. John 14:15

About 5 years ago, I read through Rick Warren’s Daily Devotional—it’s a year reading plan in the bible app (or Bible.com). It’s an excellent plan that I highly recommend. Several of the devotions throughout the plan focused on obedience to God. Below is one that stood out to me about today’s topic.

Rick Warren’s Daily Devotional, Day 320

“Today, the word obey has a negative connotation. We view obedience as a forced, unwilling decision to do something we don’t want to do because we’re afraid of punishment. But that’s not the kind of obedience that’s in God’s Word. Obedience in the Bible means this: love + trust + action.

It starts with love, as Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (NIV) Obedience comes from knowing that God loves you and you love him in return.

A lot of people think obedience is about fearing God, but God wants us to see obedience to him as a relationship of love. And out of love comes trust. If you trust what God is saying to you, and you believe that he loves you, then that will lead to action.

You need to have all three because action without love is just rote religion. And love without action is just mere talk.”[1]

What I wrote to myself this day…Don’t fight against God. Do you love God? Then keep his commandments—obey.

I KNOW God loves me, and I really do love God. So now I just need to turn this to trust, then to action. 

Loving means obeying

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Prayer for You This Year–2018

Prayer for You This Year 2018

Photo by Ümit Bulut on Unsplash

Prayer for You This Year–2018

As many people start the year with a fresh start and New Year’s Resolutions, it’s a time to look toward the upcoming year. The same is true for me. I’ll be participating with my church in a 21 day challenge involving 21 days of prayer, discipline and bible study. During the month of January, I will be spending some time in concentrated prayer. As part of my prayer time, I will be spending time praying for my blog, readers, and subscribers. I plan on praying for each person on my subscriber list individually.

There will be some general areas that I will be praying for each of you, which I’ll detail below. However, I’d also like to take this opportunity to reach out to you and see if you have any specific needs or prayer requests that you would like me to pray about. I would love to hear from you!

You can let me know your requests by:

  1. Posting a comment below (at the bottom of this page)
  2. Sending a message through my contact page by clicking here
  3. Sending me an email at tracy at happyhealthyandprosperous dot com (I have to list the email this way to avoid those crazy spam robots! :P)

I will add your specific requests to my list, and I will commit to praying for you and your needs. If you don’t have any specific needs, please know that you are still being prayed for by name anyway!

General areas I’ll be praying for

  • Spiritual growth and relationship with God and for you to also grow in wisdom stature and favor like Jesus did
  • Health, healing and emotional well-being
  • Relationships with others in your life
  • Work
  • Finances and prosperity
  • Gifts, calling and purpose
  • Direction
  • Strength and courage
  • Peace
  • Open doors for you this year and close the wrong ones
  • Experience God’s love this year

My prayer for you this year…

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So WHY do we celebrate Valentine’s Day?

So why do we celebrate Valentine’s Day ??

So WHY do we celebrate Valentine’s Day?

Well, since our Tuesday post fell on Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d take the opportunity to talk about a bit of the history of the day. Then we can also discuss why so many people might celebrate this holiday. According to my husband, and probably a multitude of others out there, Valentine’s Day is pointless. For me, however, it’s both an opportunity and a reminder…to love and be loved.

Those crazy ancient Romans

Historians aren’t completely sure of the accurate origins of Valentine’s Day, but they have some speculations as to some of the beginnings.

Celebrations on or around February 14th-15th were originally rooted in a pagan Roman festival called Lupercalia. Not surprisingly, these pagan celebrations were pretty crazy. Lots of nudity (amongst other immoral acts I’m sure). Lots of drinking. Animal sacrifices. Then, the weirdest part of this particular celebration included taking strips of the animal hide from the sacrifices and then whipping the women with them. They believed this would make them fertile. I told you…weird.

Now, my grandma was pretty fertile. She had 13 kids. However, I DEFINITELY don’t think she EVER ran around naked letting men whip her with bloody animal hides. Nope. Not my grandma. In fact, she’d probably pass out at just the mention of it! But I digress…

Put your clothes back on, and stop beating women with dead animals!

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Recognizing God’s Love By Building Your Relationship With Him–Part 1

Learn how to start Recognizing God’s Love By Building Your Relationship With Him--Part 1

Recognizing God’s Love By Building Your Relationship With Him–Part 1

**Read Part 2 here

With any relationship, you need to build it by spending time with one another and learning more about each other.  This is how love grows.  Our relationship with God is no different.  We need to spend time with him and learn about him in order to cultivate and grow love in that relationship.  It’s also a process that doesn’t happen overnight or even in a week.

This week’s post is another response to a comment that I received on a previous post, “How to Overcome Feeling Unloved or Unwanted”.  Some responses just take more than a quick reply if I’m doing them justice.  My prayer is that I can give this hurting person some hope and guidance to further recognize God’s love by learning how to build relationship with him.

Reader’s Comment:

“I’m 59, and to this day still feel unloved. I believe what you say about God’s love for us. I can’t seem to sit and really spend time with him. I do talk to Him all day here and there. I know in my mind He loves me but the rest of me doesn’t. I’m so insure from lack of feeling love I push people away. I hate it. I have five kids whom I love so much along with 9 grandkids. At this point I prefer to be dead, but I don’t want to give up. I want to know true love (not from a man at this point divorced twice) and happiness here on earth before I die. Are there places to go for a week or 2 for adults to get away and have bible studies or spiritual help?”

Quick answer…

As a quick answer to the question asked about getaways for bible studies and spiritual help… Continue reading

What If God’s Love Isn’t Enough?

Previously I shared that the best way to overcome feeling unloved/unwanted is to know that we are loved/wanted by God. But what if God's love isn't enough?

What If God’s Love Isn’t Enough?

This week’s post is in response to a comment I received on a former post, “How to Overcome Feeling Unloved or Unwanted”.  I felt that a reply at the bottom of the post wouldn’t do him justice.  In that post I shared that the best way I know to overcome feeling unloved and unwanted is to come to the understanding and realization that we are loved and wanted by God.  A gentleman left me a comment, and he made a very good point.  His comment:

“Ms. Robbins, with all due respect, what you say sounds excellent on paper. Unfortunately, here in the real world, no matter how much love God may have for me, it’s not keeping me warm at night. It’s not filling this empty spot in my bed. In other words, God’s love is no substitute for a warm body nor the touch of a woman who wants and desires me.”

I get what he’s saying.  It’s almost as if he’s asking, “What if God’s love isn’t enough?”  He’s not alone in feeling that way.  I have also asked that question.  In that post, I also discussed how Leah felt this way too.  It’s not uncommon.  It’s not absurd for him to ask this.  It’s very normal.  I am happy to say now that in my own searching, I have found the answer to that question.

First, I’d like to address his first statement.  What I write here at this site is never meant it to just sound good on paper.  My intent is to always give practical steps and applications to walk out in everyday life. This is because I do live in the real world, and I know there is a real world (full of a lot of hurt and a lot of crap).  I’ve been through a lot of it myself.  Most of what I share and teach isn’t just from a “teacher/professor of life” point of view.  It’s from the perspective of a student who has been through a lot of these things myself and about how God has navigated me through them.  Sometimes I’ve navigated through them successfully…sometimes not so much, and that’s where I get to share from my failures.  What I write is from MY real world and what I’ve learned, and God has called me to share it with others to hopefully help them too.

Now onto the part about “God’s love is no substitute”.  He makes a very good point.  I truly get it.  I know that pain.  I know what that longing and emptiness feel like.  I know that feeling that something’s missing.  I remember when all of my friends were getting married, and I was single.  Everyone else seemed so happy.  They seemed to have something I was missing.  It made me so sad to see couples.  And weddings…they would set me into a major funk and depression.  For a while, I even refused to go to weddings because they were so depressing for me.  Isn’t that awful?  I now feel horrible about that because I see in hindsight how extremely selfish that was of me.  I should have celebrated in others’ happiness instead wallowing in my own sorrow and self-pity.

Now, I’m happily married (for nearly 16 years now—wahoo!!).  However, I CAN’T tell you that it’s always been happy, happy, joy, joy or that I’ve never experienced loneliness.  Marriage or relationships don’t exempt you from feelings of emptiness or loneliness—even with having that person to share life with and that person who wants and desires you.  I heard somebody say once, “There’s only one thing worse than being single and lonely.  It’s being married and lonely.”  Even in my marriage I have experienced some of the deepest pits of feeling unloved and unwanted.  Some of it stemmed from marriage troubles, but quite honestly a lot of it was due to my own insecurities and in trying to make my husband fill a void in me that only God’s love can fill.  Although, I experienced these immense feelings of being unloved and unwanted, I was also able to overcome them.

What if God's love isn't enough...answer in this quote by Oswald Chambers

Oswald Chambers

God showed me that it was through Him that I could overcome feeling unloved and unwanted.  God showed me that if I will always fill myself up with His love first, then everything else I get from others is just an overflow on top of an already full cup (an analogy I learned from Beth Moore).  And when I’m already full and overflowing, THEN I can be better at overflowing that love onto others.  We have to be filled with God first.

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