February 15

The Healing Love of God

I’ll never forget a time in my teen years when I was more interested in chasing members of the opposite sex than I was pursuing God, or, for that matter, anything else in life. I had a youth pastor who told me, “You need to change the way you live in Friday and Saturday nights to match what you do on Sunday.” That was a good message, it hurt at the time, but it has stuck with me to this day. I was unfaithful to God a lot, but we have all been that way in our own ways. You see, I went from being the person who thought, “God will love me when I am through sinning,” to, “I don’t want to hurt the heart of God.” That was the shift for me found in the maturity, (I say that very lightly), found in age and time.

Yes, God will be waiting on us when we are finished wallowing in the filth of sin, indulging our fleshly desires, but, if we knew His love fully, we would be drawn to live in a way that pleased Him and not hurt His heart. His love knows no bounds. There was a time when I was heavily intoxicated, I was in a bad, bad way. I have vague memories from that specific night, but one thing sticks out to me even now. In the midst of the heavy sinning, I heard what I believe to be the Holy Spirit, speak to me and say, “I will still love you when you are finished.” It was a sobering moment. Friends, we should not use his boundless, unwavering love as an excuse to do whatever we please, rather, it should be the attraction to please His heart and glorify His name with our lives. That, my friends, is a powerful love. A love that, when piercing the heart of man, affects his desires and life choices.

Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your mercy, for Your boundless love. May I live in a way that shows I know Your love and be pleasing to You. -Amen

The LORD says, “Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever.

Hosea 14:4 NLT

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