When You Feel Unloved by God (Psalm 117:2)
By: Anne Peterson
Today’s Bible Verse: For He loves us with unfailing love; the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. - Psalm 117:2
I remember a day I was praying and felt surprised that God hadn’t answered my prayer. After all, I was walking with him, wasn’t I? I was spending time in his Word. I cared about others and tried encouraging them. And then it hit me. Somehow I was acting entitled. That was a hard sentence to write.
I guess I started believing God would answer my prayer because of something I was doing for him. I’m so glad God has left us with his Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit faithfully reminds us of the truth when we start believing in lies.
The truth is, God demonstrated his own love for us while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
God never said, “Just do this, this, and this, and I’ll love you.” His love is not conditional. I think sometimes our love is. Salvation is freely given. God tells us by grace are you saved and not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
I guess in a way, I was boasting about all I had done when I expected God to answer my prayers. Or maybe I was reminding God.
If you’ve ever felt walking closely with God will make God love you more, maybe you’ve fallen into the same faulty thinking I have fallen into. God’s love does not have strings attached.
I need to write the words: God’s love is unconditional, over and over again.
The enemy loves it when we believe lies. He is, after all, the father of lies. And if we believe we could earn God’s love by our actions, we would forever be wondering if we were doing enough.
The enemy loves it when we blow it. Like when someone is angry with us, and instead of responding in love, we react in anger towards them. Well for sure God isn’t going to answer our prayers after we blow it like that, right
God’s love is unfailing. It doesn’t give up on us. It’s a stubborn love. And God’s faithfulness endures forever. Forever is a very long time. And to me, that means no matter what, God will be faithful. It’s who He is. We can put our faith in God and know He will come through for us. Just like he did for David and as he did for Paul. It’s part of who God is.
How comforting to know these truths. Do we deserve them? No. But God is both gracious and merciful. He gives us what we don’t deserve - grace, he withholds what we do deserve.
God wants us to love as he does. He wants us to not give up on others. Is it easy? No. In fact, sometimes it seems downright impossible. But even then, God tells us that the things impossible with men are possible with God (Luke 18:27). And Paul reminds us, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13).
So will God ever stop loving us? The answer is no. Never. For God’s love is greater than any other love. God’s Word tells us: Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13). Nothing can top God’s love. So the next time you feel unloved by God, ask yourself, what am I basing this on? And if it’s your feelings, then remember they are fickle. Trust instead in what God has said in his Word.
God’s love will always last. He said so. And our God is not a man that he should lie (Numbers 23:19).
Anne Peterson is a poet, speaker, published author of 16 books, including her latest book, Always There: Finding God's Comfort Through Loss. Anne has published children’s books, poetry books and 2 memoirs. She is a regular contributor to Crosswalk. If you are not certain you are going to heaven, sign up for Anne’s free eBook, Real Love at www.annepeterson.com. You can also connect with Anne on Facebook.
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