God Is Love {pt. 3}

     How are you feeling today Gorgeous? Are you feeling loved? Or have you shut down in order to avoid feeling pain? Today's post is all about being open. The first two posts in the God Is Love series were all about helping us to realize how much God loves us. Now I think it's time we look at the issue of being open to that incredible love. 

     Why is it that you shut yourself down to feeling love? What are you so afraid of? Do you want to keep yourself from getting hurt, again? Do you want to keep certain thoughts and fears away? We all have our own reasons for shutting down, and it's something we all struggle with from time to time. I'll admit... Feeling God's love doesn't always come easy. The devil wants nothing more than to convince us that this whole "God is love" deal is a scam; that we can't trust it. The sad part is so many of us buy into that lie. That's what it is. A lie. 

     But you know what? If there's anything you can trust in this life it is this "God is love" deal. It is the most real thing there is! Jesus came for you! He came for you! If you had been the only person on the planet he still would've come. You meant enough to him that he would go so far as to die for you, even if it was just for you. Think about that for a moment... 

Wow! Incredible! God's love is not just something thought out to get our hopes up. 

It is legit! It actually exists! It's actually something we can depend on. 

Fully! Completely! Totally! 

And what's so incredible is that each of us have the opportunity to experience that love for ourselves. Each of us feel that love in a way unique to us, but each of us have the chance to feel it. 

     Let me ask you this... Do you want to open up and feel again? Do you want to feel what love feels like? Do you want to feel the reassurance trust brings? The answers to these questions are ones that only you can give. You need to look at what you want. If your answers are yes I encourage you to move forward. Spend some time with Jesus just letting him love you. There is no formula or specific routine. All you need to do is say, 

"Jesus, in this moment I allow you to love me once again. I want to feel your love, and I know there's nothing you want more than to love me. Every day you show me how much you love me, and from now on I want to start recognizing it. I'm done shutting down. I want to learn to trust again. Thank you Jesus for always being by my side. I love you!" 

     However, if your answer is no, that's ok too. Sometimes we need time. Sometimes we just feel too hurt to open up ever again. Sometimes we're terrified that opening up will mean our safe world getting teared down. For some of us, we've always played the role of the strong person. The role of the person who has her life together and doesn't need anybody. And then there's some of us who think we need to go through hell before we reach God. We all have our own story. 

     My story is this... For the longest time I didn't trust God. Sure, I trusted him with the little things, and even the big things. But what I didn't trust him with was my inner self. Because I was scared he would run if he saw I wasn't as put together as I made myself out to be, I believed the misconception that I had to work really hard to get to God's love. Yes, I knew his love was right there for me all the time, but I came to realize that in my heart I believed something else. I saw a terrifying hanging bridge between me and God. I believed that every time I wanted to come to God I had to cross that hanging bridge to get to him; experiencing all the pain, fear, and other horrible emotions that came with it. But one night under the starlit sky and in the hug of a good friend, God revealed something to me. I don't have to cross that hanging bridge to get to him. That part is his job. My job is to allow him to cross it and love me. He cannot and will not force himself on me. He loves me so much, but I can't feel his love until I allow him to give it to me. I can't feel his love until I allow myself to feel it. All he needs us to do is allow him to cross that bridge and he will be by our side, as simple as that!

     Only you can determine what it is that you want. And only you know what you're dealing with. But I highly encourage you to take what you may feel is a risk. Trust God's love! It is definitely worth it. You will not be disappointed! Go ahead, do it! It is one of the most freeing experiences you'll ever have. 

     Before I bid you goodnight, I just want to say that I love you. And from the deepest parts of my heart I sincerely hope you allow God to love you as well. And even if you don't... His love is still there. He will never leave you or forsake you!