How to live loved

I woke up Valentine’s Day to an empty bed.

We made pink hearts and cute cupcakes but they didn’t make the sheets warm. They didn’t hold me strong and whisper hope and connect deep.

There was just this stark, cold emptiness.

I’m thinking about that now, thinking about him on the other side of the world, a grieving husband who knows about cold sheets and long goodbyes. His young wife fades away in a hospital bed next to his. Next to theirs.

And what do you do when love seems far away, just beyond reach? When your hopes and dreams crash and burn? When your longings go unfulfilled and you know deep disconnect and pain invades every corner?  And let’s be honest, you’re not a miracle worker that can resurrect the dead.

 

What do you do when love seems far away? When your hopes and dreams crash and burn? In the face of pain, is there really a solid Rock we have in God, or do we just throw those statements around? I have learned I can stay in love. Throught separation, pain, and death. We need to keep ourselves in the love of God.

 

We like to throw around promises and pithy statements about how great God is; but really, is this all some hocus pocus stuff we’re trying to sell ourselves?

In the face of imminent death and the realization that pain is unavoidable after all, is it *really* some “solid rock” we have?

The bed is empty and the kids are noisy and demanding and the environment is definitely not lit with soft candles when I open a Letter from the greatest Valentine of all.

There are words.

Real words describing a REAL condition.

Words that compel me to embrace a reality just as real as my empty bed and cold sheets and noisy surroundings.

According to Jude 1:21, the way to live loved is by building ourselves up in our faith

 

There it is on the page. We can stay in Love.

Though there’s separation. Loss. Pain. Death.

There is a way to keep ourselves in never-ending Love.

No matter what.

A provision has been made for us to enter into the Love Circle and stay there.

Okay, got it. That’s a relief.

But still, am I “keeping myself” there, making sure I’m staying within the warmth of that circle? Is it possible not to let the wolves of pain, death, and cold sheets tear me from the fire of Love?

We’ve got to “keep ourselves in the Love of God.” But did any human ever win against a pack of devouring wolves?

Hmm. Sounds a little works based to me. Sounds a little hokey pokey, a little far fetched in the face of such harsh realities of life. Sounds a little like a dangling carrot, a little impossible.

Maybe I’m just a cynic; but please, let’s not make the Christian life all fluffy~~ like those piled high pink frosting cupcakes on Valentine’s day.

Because the Christian life is cancer and death and opposition and persecution and times of gut wrenching prayers that get a “no” answer.

It isn’t until I read and re-read that little verse in Jude that it sinks in: “Keep yourselves in God’s love… by building yourselves up in your most holy faith….”

And I realize there is only one way to live loved.

It IS possible to keep ourselves In Love but there’s only one way to do it, and that’s by stoking our faith.

By believing that God is good. All the time. That all His works are done in faithfulness. That He is wise and caring and gentle and is working for me a weight of glory in all things.

I need confidence of unseen realities, of what my eyes cannot see. I need the assurance of things hoped for.

To stay in the warmth of God’s Wondrous Love, in the midst of my own hard reality, I’ve got to stoke the fire with faith.

And there in the Garden, Jesus told the disciples, “Satan has asked to sift you like wheat but I’ve prayed for you, that your faith would remain.”

The enemy seeks to devour us but faith is the victory that overcomes the world.

The way to keep the wolves at bay in the dark of night is to feed trust and make it blaze.

A twig…a stick…a Word… a Namea Promise…at a time.

 

The way to keep the wolves at bay is to feed trust and make it blaze. A stick…a twig…a Word… a promise…at a time.

 

Author Keri Kent writes,

 

“Love consists, so often, of simply showing up.

The Incarnation is the ultimate example of “showing up.” But even now, two millennia later, if we pay attention, we will notice when Jesus shows up. He makes good on his promise to abide with us.

Jesus is fully present with us, no matter where we go. The question is, do we acknowledge that presence? And do we, for lack of a better term, take advantage of it? Do we fully exploit and enjoy the fact that Jesus himself is nearby, looking at us with love?

How would we live if we fully embraced this incredible truth at all times?”

from Keri Wyatt Kent, author of Deeply Loved

 

To live every day a “Valentine’s Day” with a very present and real Lover who sacrifices everything to redeem and restore and relate with me? Who will one day fully glorify me? Yes please.

Regardless of the reality I face today, I can live In Love.

If love is the circle, then faith is the fire that keeps the dark out.

To live in the Love Circle… no matter what…  it becomes essential we keep stoking our “most holy faith,” not allowing doubt and fear to enter in.

And with all the trust building exercises and habits I’ve learned to implement over the years, I get it.  The way to live loved is to trust.

It’s easier than you think.

Because a mustard seed of faith grows and becomes the biggest tree you’ve got and a spark of fire can be fanned into an unstoppable blaze.

The supply line for the believer is her faith and re-establishing the supply line can be done.

Maybe it’s time to come into the circle?

Maybe it’s time to join hands and fire brands and start living loved? Time to fan a flame?

Maybe today you need the reminder to simply keep yourself in the Love of God. If so, build yourself up in your most holy faith, friend… light a match and live loved. 

 

The way we keep ourselves in the love of God is simple: trust.

Related:

Need to make this practical? I’ve poured my journey out in this book. It is jam packed with vulnerable stories, faith building exercises, scripture, and practical resources. If you or someone you love needs a no-holds barred help to building trust, here it is: Trust Without Borders: A 40-Day Devotional Journey to Deepen, Strengthen, and Stretch Your Faith in God

{And can I just say that all proceeds from this book are going to provide genital reconstruction surgery for an orphan boy who is holding onto hope? Who is praying for a miracle to get out of diapers?  Your trust building journey can bless another. Thank you, friend.}

See also:

What to say when you preach the Gospel to yourself

40 Promises of God that will change your life

 

Jude 1:21 tells us to keep ourselves in the love of God. We can live loved everyday! But how? Here's a double take look at Jude 1:21 for some practical instruction.

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6 Comments

  1. Feed faith…and make it blaze. In God’s economy, that often requires trial and difficulty. In those times, God sets our faith afire enough to trust Him just a little more than we did the day before. And again, the next day, and the next. Pretty soon, we have a blazing faith born of trial and difficult. It’s odd, God’s economy, but it’s beautiful.

  2. “The way to live loved is to trust.” That’s exactly right. That is what I’ve been learning this year. I’ve really been focusing on what it means to trust- because I’ve been a bit of a control freak for most of my life. This was so wonderful and encouraging. Thank you for sharing these sweet words.

  3. What a beautiful post! I loved that piece from Keri Kent because it is so true. Love often means just showing up; just being there for others but also knowing that Jesus is here for us, always. That is the key for this life, for living loved and living loving others – by trusting God and His promises. Thank you so much for this encouragement!

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