Love That Never Hurts, Betrays, or Abandons Us

February 11, 2020February 10, 2020 Trudy Den Hoed24 Comments

“The world today is hungry
Not only for bread
But hungry for love;
Hungry to be wanted,
Hungry to be loved.”
~ Mother Teresa ~

Is your heart aching when you think of Valentine’s Day? Did you lose loved ones recently? Or do you feel unwanted and unloved?

There are many legends surrounding the origin of Valentine’s Day, but many of us see it as a day set aside to show others we care and to remind them they are loved and appreciated.

It’s always a comfort to be remembered, but many will experience that ache of loved ones lost either by death or some other way, even after many years. Others feel all alone in the world and unloved with not even a memory of ever being loved.

Perhaps some of you carry a distorted view of what love is because of abuse or neglect, whether in the past or the present. I know I did. Often it takes time to heal and trust even God because of suffering devastating betrayal from someone we trusted. Because of someone who was supposed to value, nurture, and protect us instead of hurt us.

People can hurt, betray, or abandon us. But Jesus’ love is like a bottomless ocean. It will never, ever empty. It will always and forever remain faithful. It will always nurture, not hurt.

Jesus willingly took on the heavy burden of sin. Our sin and the sin of those who have hurt us. All our sins are washed away and all our hurts can be healed and redeemed through Jesus and the blood He shed for us. He willingly died in our place because He loves us so deeply. He suffered excruciating, unbearable pain as whips slashed His flesh and nails pierced his hands and feet. Unspeakable anguish as the Father withdrew His presence. He was forsaken by God so we would never have to be forsaken. Incomprehensible, immeasurable, immutable love. So beyond our understanding that it can never be understood by our human minds. So infinite it can never be measured. So firmly established that it will never change.

“Greater love has no one than this:
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
John 15:13

What Is Love?

by Helen Steiner Rice

What is love? No words can define it—

It’s something so great

only God could design it.

For love means much more

than small words can express,

For what we call love is very much less

Than the beauty and depth

and the true riches of

God’s gift to mankind—

His compassionate love.

God Loves and Understands

by Helen Steiner Rice

It’s amazing and incredible,

But it’s as true as it can be,

God loves and understands us all

And that means you and me–

His grace is all sufficient

For both the young and old,

For the lonely and the timid,

For the brash and for the bold–

His love knows no exceptions,

So never feel excluded,

No matter what your past has been,

Trust God to understand,

And no matter what your problem is

Just place it in His Hand–

For in all of our unloveliness

This great God loves us still,

He loved us since the world began,

And what’s more, He always will!

No Greater Love
by Colton Dixon

“What kind of love would stand in the flames
And choose to remain there beside me?
What kind of love would go to the grave
Give up everything just to find me?
Of all the treasure that this world would offer me
You’re the only thing I need…

Your love is never changing
Your love will always be my home
And though this world will fail me
Your love will never let me go

No greater love
No greater love
No greater love
Than Yours…”

“May your roots go down deep
into the soil of God’s marvelous love;
and may you be able to feel and understand,
as all God’s children should,
how long, how wide, how deep,
and how high His love really is.”
Ephesians 3:17b-18 TLB

Replacing Negative Criticism With God’s Truth

June 4, 2019June 3, 2019 Trudy Den Hoed18 Comments

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never harm me!” As kids, we often chanted this whenever someone called us a name. Is it true? No way!

Negative words can cut us deeply and can stick in our hearts and minds like stuck records throughout our lives. They can hide in a corner of our minds and affect us in ways we don’t even realize. They can empty us of our security in who we really are. We start basing our value on what others say instead of who God says we are.

“You’re not good enough… You’re dumb… You’re worthless…” Words that make us feel like we’ll never amount to much. Words that strip us of our self-worth and prevent us from fulfilling our God-given potential. Constant drips that wear away our courage to do things we really CAN do.

In a blog post I read last week – What To Do When Criticism Cuts Deep – Michele Cushatt points us to some valuable truths that have helped her. I’ll share three of them here:

“Because I no longer delegate
the power to determine my value.”

“Who I am is rooted in who Jesus says I am.
And the hard work He’s already done,
without any effort on my part
to earn it or deserve it.”

“I am loved,
without condition or prerequisite.
God sees me as I am,
and loves me anyway.
It’s that simple.”

I’m so sorry if you have been hurt by words. It can be tough to shut off that persistent negative voice, can’t it? Here is God’s Truth to replace negative criticism that taunts us.

“In His Eyes”
by 1 Girl Nation

“So you’re different
Let them say you are
Cause you’re the vision
Of the Father’s heart
In the Father’s heart

When the world has told you lies
You are priceless in His eyes”

May we open our hearts
for God to pour in His Truth!
And may that Truth overflow
into all our words and
actions towards others!

May Roundup of Hope Resources

May 28, 2019May 24, 2019 Trudy Den Hoed24 Comments

ABCs of Jesus’ Love

(Visit this page for more verses!)

❤ Holy Love ❤

“The angel replied,
‘The Holy Spirit shall come upon you,
and the power of God shall overshadow you;
so the baby born to you will be
utterly holy—the Son of God.’“
Luke 1:35 TLB

Hope Harbor

💞 Articles/Blog Posts That Inspire Hope and Healing 💞

💞 Hard Times? How to Hear God’s Song Louder Than Any Hard Times – Ann Voskamp’s guest post by Aubrey Sampson – “In a world full of hate, abuse, and game change, God doesn’t avoid or ignore pain. He sings a louder song over it. And He invites His hurting people to sing with Him.”

💞 It’s Okay to Process Your Loss – Dolly Lee shares about learning self-compassion toward our hurts. To God, suffering is suffering, and He doesn’t compare one to another. – “When we don’t deal with what is inside us, it tends to result in other harmful attitudes and actions.”

💞 You’d Never Know It From Looking At Her – Alia Joy shares honest truths about the hidden pain of mental illness. – “Sometimes it’s hard to be the one in line for your antidepressant, or anti-anxiety meds, or in my case all of the above with an added antipsychotic to control my bipolar disorder. Sometimes we don’t want a consult, we just want a connection. We just want to know it’s ok. We just want to know we’re not alone.“

Nature Retreat

“The more often we see the things around us –
even the beautiful and wonderful things –
the more they become invisible to us.
That is why we often take for granted
the beauty of this world:
the flowers, the trees, the birds, the clouds –
even those we love.
Because we see things so often,
we see them less and less.”
Joseph B.

Again, some awesome pics from my brother. 🙂 Thank you, John!

Yes, Big Bertha is really the name of this cactus!

Quotes

❤ “How radically must we rework our own self-image if we accept ourselves as loveable – as deeply, passionately, and unconditionally loved by God?” – Antony Campbell

❤ “Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion.” – Brennan Manning

❤ “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein

Tag: hurts