My Love List

I've always struggled to believe that God loves me—loves me with the fullness and depth and beauty that He says He does.

Mysteriously enough, it was my long years of singleness that led me into a deep, indescribable experience of God's love. (Isn't it true that the very trials that threaten to crush us eventually become the bulwark of our souls?) In those years of silence and waiting, God was loud with His love.

But still, despite it all, I often struggle to believe and experience the infinite love of my Heavenly Husband on a daily basis.

So, I bust out my "love list."

I compiled this list when I was twenty or twenty-one, and I've returned to it over and over (and over!) again through the years. These truths from Scripture are rich, sustaining, and captivating. May they wash over your heart tonight too and remind you that you are loved beyond all comprehension.

He has engraved me on the palm of His hand.
Isaiah 49:16

He carries me close to His heart.
Isaiah 40:11

He holds my hand.
Psalm 73:23

He will do abundantly more than all I can ask or imagine.
Ephesians 3:20

He daily bears my burdens.
Psalm 68:19

He thinks of me constantly: His thoughts of me outnumber the grains of sand on the sea.
Psalm 139:17–18

He is intimately interested in my life. He even knows how many hairs are on my head.
Matthew 10:30

He has planned out my days.
Psalm 139:16; 118:24

He prays for me.
Hebrews 7:25; Romans 8:26

He freely forgives me.
1 John 1:9; Psalm 103:12

He protects and rescues me.
Psalm 91

He understands my disappointments, sorrows, and weaknesses.
Hebrews 2:17–18

He gives me the power to live like Him.
Romans 8:9–11; Philippians 4:13

He delights in me and rejoices over me with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

He teaches me what is best for me.
Isaiah 48:17

He helps me.
Isaiah 41:10, 14; Psalm 118:13; Deuteronomy 33:26

He created me for a special purpose and designed me to be His wonderful creation.
Psalm 139:13–14; Jeremiah 1:5; Ephesians 2:10

He will fulfill His purpose for me.
Psalm 138:8; Philippians 1:6

His love for me is as high as the heavens are above the earth.
Psalm 103:11

He makes my path level and smooth.
Isaiah 26:7

He is always with me.
Psalm 73:23

He guides me with His counsel.
Psalm 73:24

He gives me wisdom.
James 1:5

He keeps record of all my tears.
Psalm 56:8

He satisfies my hunger and quenches my thirst.
John 6:35

He holds me in His hand.
John 10:27

He gives me life to the fullest.
John 10:10

He laid down His life for me.
John 10:11

He gives me good and perfect gifts.
James 1:17

He listens to me; He hears my cry.
Psalm 145:19

He fulfills my desires.
Psalm 145:19; 37:4

He has compassion on me.
Psalm 145:9

He cures me of backsliding.
Jeremiah 4:22

He makes me pure.
Ezekiel 36:25–26

He makes me happy.
Psalm 16:11; 36:8

He has made me His child.
Romans 8:14; Galatians 4:5; 3:26

He has given me fullness in Christ, and I am complete.
Colossians 2:9–10

He has qualified me to share in the inheritance of the saints.
Colossians 1:12

He has given me a home in heaven.
Colossians 1:13; Ephesians 2:6

He has lavished on me all the riches of His grace.
Ephesians 1:8

He longs to give me His very best.
Isaiah 1:19

He is distressed in my distress.
Isaiah 63:9

He lifts me up and carries me.
Isaiah 63:14

He leads me through the depths and the darkness.
Isaiah 50:10

He directs my steps.
Proverbs 20:24

He chooses to forget my sins; He buries them in the deep sea.
Isaiah 43:25, Micah 7:19

He has given me an inheritance far beyond my imagination.
Psalm 47:4; Ephesians 1:18, Colossians 1:12

He provides me with the strength to serve Him.
1 Peter 4:11

He rejoices over me just like a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.
Isaiah 62:5

Our emotions are strong, aren't they, ladies? Our hearts can easily lie to us. "God doesn't really love me."

But His truth is stronger than our emotions. Let's stand on the eternal reality of our Savior's love for us; let's remember that "by this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before Him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything." (1 John 3:19–20)

Dear daughter of God, you are perfectly loved, and nothing in this world, nor the next, can change that.