How
Do You Love Me?
By
Jeannine Sawall
“The
Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great
delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over
you with singing.”
Zephaniah
3:17 (NIV)
Two years ago, I was
sitting on the boat in the middle of the lake, reflecting with a discouraged
heart. Life had been full of difficulties and sorrows of late, and it had left
me exhausted and disheartened. The many verses I knew about God’s love kept
coming to mind. Verses that reminded me of His great love for me: Ephesians
2:4-5, Romans 5:8. Verses about how He delights in me: Proverbs
8:31, Psalm 18:19. Verses proclaiming I am his beloved
daughter: 1
Samuel 12:22, Ephesians 5:1. Grumbling, I said under my breath, “Yeah…maybe
His kinda-loved-just-a-little-bit daughter!”
I looked up and out,
and noticed the boat was covered in a swarm of dragonflies. It was then that
the Lord gently rebuked me and reminded me of His great love for me…not as
second choice daughter or His last thought…but His every thought. Every
dragonfly pair created a small heart. Imagine the entire vessel adorned with
little blue hearts. He said to me, “How do I love you? Everything I created
sings about my love for you. Even these dragonflies are my personal love letter
to you.” Tears filled my eyes as I quietly confessed my doubts and
discouragement to Him and thanked Him for His love letter.
Oftentimes in the midst
of life, we can feel the Lord has forgotten about us. Or maybe not completely
forgotten about us…but we aren’t on His list of top hundred (maybe million!)
things for the day. We can question His love for us when tragedy strikes or we
fall onto hard times. After all, if we had the power to control all
things, we wouldn’t let any beloved child experience the kind of trial or
trouble that seems to plague this earth. Sometimes, just in our everyday
busy-ness, we may doubt God really delights in us with His great love. We
question if He really rejoices over us with singing. However, if we take a
moment to look outside of ourselves and look up, we will be reminded of His
great love through all the wonders He created with us in
mind.
When life brings
doubts, ask the Lord to send assurances. He is faithful to lift us up. How does
He love us….let me count the ways. He loves us so much that even dragonflies
are His personal love letter!
GOING DEEPER:
1. Have you ever
felt like God’s “kinda-loved-just-a-little-bit daughter”? What do you do
to capture and replace those thoughts?
2. When you doubt
God’s love for you, how do you bring your heart back in line?
FURTHER READING:
Jeannine
is a wife and mother of four active boys. She works in the property management
business. Jeannine serves with the Oakwood café and is actively involved in
ministry to those walking through grief.
