“…God showed his great love for us…”
I’m already chosen.
I know who I am.
I know what You’ve spoken.
I’m already loved.
More than I could imagine,
And that is enough.
These lyrics from the song Jireh, sung by Elevation Worship and Maverick City, reverberated in our ears and rolled off our lips when the song was released. We hungered for its message, worshiped in hope, and sang from our hearts a truth many know, but few live.
My heart’s connection with this song was with the above repetitive message that my soul desperately wanted to believe. I desire to live from a place of belief reflective in actions that knows I am already chosen; I don’t have to wait for someone to select me. I am already loved; the One who matters most is already pleased with me before a foot touches the floor.
Why do I not live, after all these years of following Christ, like I am enough, chosen, loved – already?
The search for my disconnect led me to a foundational belief that God is good. When life gets difficult, those around me are suffering, and I or others appear to barely be keeping our heads above water; pain and suffering challenge my belief that God is inherently good. This shaky belief in God’s goodness was robbing me of living from a place of already.
How do we move forward in fortifying our faith that God is good so that our belief is bolstered?
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, NIV, bold added).
We have a natural human craving to be loved. Psychologists tell us that we continuously filter through messages from those around us to determine whether we are loved by them and do they still love us. Rarely is a one-act sufficient. We need the love from those closest to us to be reinforced.
“But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (NRSV, bold added).
God has already demonstrated and proven his love for us. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13, NIV). Yet God’s love for us did not stop at the cross or the empty tomb. God’s love is ongoing, which is where our focus needs to turn, “because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Romans 5:5, NRSV).
Yet many of us receive this incredible Love from God only to become, like me, preoccupied with the pain and suffering of our world or the pain and suffering of those around us. We lose sight of God’s presence with us. His intentions towards us. Our ability to trust Him with the pain and suffering.
We carry – always being loved – with us, but how can we reground ourselves in this truth so that we live from a place of being already loved, already chosen, and knowing we are already enough because God is enough?
The place where we live the truth of already loved is …
- A Place that Practices Remembering. We must often remember the one monumental act that proved God’s love for us. The purpose of communion or The Lord’s Supper was designed for us to remember – not our sinful selves in need of a Savior, but to what great lengths God took on our behalf because he loves us that much.
Many evangelical churches have moved away from serving communion regularly, while other faiths overemphasize our sinfulness above the merciful abundance of God’s grace.
We would do well to break bread together more regularly in remembrance, feasting on God’s daily bread for us as we feast on his Word. Recall God’s great love for us poured out in His shed blood as we drink from the cup and know “I am already loved.” (Acts 2:46)
- A Place that Pursues the Goodness of God. The enemy works relentlessly to cast doubt through suffering and pain. An individual who actively focuses on God’s goodness, despite what is seen, has chosen more than a belief (noun) but actively believes (verb).
Actively believing is exhibited through a constant effort to redirect one’s thoughts from the diversion to the truth. Understanding and meditating on God’s promises reinforces our belief that God is good. (Colossians 3:1-3, 10)
Recalling the times God has been faithful and writing them down to pull back up in challenging times will strengthen our belief in God’s goodness. We were “already” then; we are “already” now. God has not changed His mind about us.
After Jesus had expressed His extreme love for us through his death and resurrection, there was an instance where Jesus walked with a group to Emmaus, but they did not recognize him. They urged him to stay with them for a while. Luke records, “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight” (Luke 24:30-31, NIV).
At the table with Jesus, breaking bread, communing with Him, an act of remembrance of His goodness triggered the opening of their eyes to see what they had. Our intentionality with remembering and pursuing God’s goodness will directly impact our living from a place of already.
I pray you remember God’s act of love to recall how this demonstration of grace and mercy impacts your existence today. That your eyes will be opened to His goodness in new and fresh ways reviving your heart and altering your life. May God’s love and goodness penetrate your soul so deeply that it will never be uprooted. Through Christ’s sustaining blood shed for us, may you be empowered each day to walk from a solid unshaken place of being already enough, already chosen, and already loved. In Jesus’ name, so be it.
Meditate: God has proven His love for me
Reflect: Is your belief that God is good ever affected? If so, how? If not, do you live and respond to those around you from a place of being already loved? Write out or think through – what does it look like to live and respond from a place of being already loved? How are you doing with pursuing God’s goodness? Do you need to experience the Lord’s Supper/Communion more often? When you take Communion/Lord’s Supper, how can you prepare to embrace better communion’s representation of God’s astounding Love for you?
Rooted: Romans 5: 1-11, John 6:48-51, God is good verses (1 Chronicles 16:34; Ezra 3:11; Psalm 23:6, 25:8, 27:13; Mark 10:18; James 1:17)
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PODCAST References for corresponding E11: “Jireh” by Maverick City | Scripture references: Rom 3:23-24, Eph 2:8-9, Genesis 3:16, Psalm 59:10 | Closing prayer – Ps 108:4
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