Although being a clear Biblical principle taught faithfully in my upbringing, the concept of ‘Living as Loved’ most recently grabbed my attention while reading Crystal Paine’s book, Love-Centered Parenting. Crystal repeatedly referred to this phrase throughout her text (see my honest book review). And as it struck a chord with me each time, I believed God had something profound for me to further uncover —immediately typing the title out to return to as I began praying for more clarity. 

Perhaps some of you can relate —to ‘live as loved’ has been one of the most mind, heart, and soul-challenging concepts to receive by faith throughout my life —not so much for lack of understanding regarding the lifestyle it suggests, as in, 1 John 4:19 “We love Him because He first loved us.” But for decidedly winning the battle over the ever accusing, niggling doubt —why in all the world would God ever love me?!

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Clearing Out Faulty Logic

Regardless of old human realities and the very real consequential wounds left behind in their wake, to ever allow my mind to rest in denial of the loving foundation that God loves me would say, in essence, God’s Word lies. And, of course, that’s not the case —there is some seriously faulty logic to clear up here! 

Recognizing such repugnant thinking for what it is, I have waited months before approaching this subject again. One thing I know on the matter, before we can securely live as loved, we must believe with all certainty that we definitively are!

Truth versus ‘the Feels’

Obvious questions quickly follow —how can a Christian possibly wrestle with the doubt of God’s love? After years of knowing God, how can we find ourselves in a place of doubt or, worse, crippling despair?

Certainly, there can be multiple reasons for such a state. Unconfessed sin and double-mindedness could play a part in opening us up to Satan’s whispered lies —or perhaps it’s our own frailty and doubt. Often, I have found myself praying the words of the father in Mark 9:14-29,

Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!

We instinctively value that which we can see, touch and feel. If having reasonable cause to doubt our parent’s love, our spouse’s love, our children’s love; if we perceive somehow that our friend’s hearts have grown cold, or our life choices have separated us from our community —we can quickly feel entirely rejected and unloved —even by God who has done nothing but love us. 

As I have repeatedly asked myself over the years, I’ll ask you —how much sense does that make? 

Nevertheless, this sin-crushed, broken world is full of incalculable reasons for doubting love. It’s not hard to imagine that the plaguing doubt of love is, in fact, far more probable than not for the walking wounded among us. 

Faith is the Answer

Ultimately, it’s faith in God that opens our eyes to this unimaginable truth —God loves you and loves me. And He waits with open arms for us to return from our senseless wanderings [Luke 15:11-32].

Hebrews 11:1-2 says,

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 
For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 

It takes faith in God to believe we are loved when we honestly aren’t feeling it within ourselves. It takes faith to believe God’s Word is true and silence the lies wreaking havoc in our heads. God’s Word repeatedly speaks of His love for us. John 3:16, Romans 5:8, Romans 8:38-39, 1 John 4:7-11, …to list a few. 

Finally, getting to the crux of the matter, living as loved affects our every decision —it determines what we ultimately choose to believe and do with our lives. Jesus spoke of it this way in John 14:21:

Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.

Has God ever made Himself evident to you? I challenge you to ask Him to remind you —where has He met personally with you, making Himself obvious, evident, or apparent? When we are confident that we are unfailingly loved by the all-knowing God and Father of the universe, the rest of our life circumstances pale in comparison.  

Imagine the joy that the truest of loves infuses into your life. Imagine the healing, the power, the strength. Suddenly the very real overwhelm of this world shrinks with the promise of God’s overcoming love. I wonder, can you even, for a fleeting moment, feel it?

Living Secure

Living in the security of God’s love gives us a passion for returning that love —living as He would have us live. Jesus gave everything to prove God’s love for us —His very life! And we have our lives to live in gratefulness for it.

This sort of love confidence reflects such incredible beauty. 

For me, secure love removes so much personal doubt that incessantly dogs my heels. I’m free to do things my spirit longs to do, like writing transparently, speaking about Jesus, sharing my testimony, baking cookies for my neighbors —even someday again talking to my neighbors. 

As a young mother, God’s love challenged my weaker self, filled with frustration and brokenness, to grow in His grace —and by His grace, I did. In so many circumstances, God’s love for me challenged every unforgiveness —He has given me so much of it, how could I not grant the very same to others?

Perhaps you’ve experienced this too? 

Remembering God’s Love

When I remember God’s love for me, not only are my heart, spirit, and choices affected but even my physical being changes. I can feel my shoulders square and my head raise. My lungs can breathe air fully that previously felt stifled. My steps are lighter with energy, and the praise of God is ready on my lips.

It stands to reason that if faith and truth win the battles over our broken human doubt, one of our greatest battles is to remember. The ancient Israelites history, coming out of Egypt, is enough to prove this point. See Exodus 15:7-17:7, how quickly they forgot God’s miraculous rescue and goodness.

To this point in my life, my only advice on this matter is establishing a habit of memorizing Scripture responses addressing our particular weaknesses and doubts —and using them to battle against any renewed doubt that enters our minds. As typically groan-eliciting, old-fashioned, and unglamorous as this suggestion may be —still, I HIGHLY recommend the practice. 

Training our mind with the truth of God’s goodness, salvation, and current, active love is our only hope of consistently remembering. And once you do —Living as Loved will entirely change your life.