God's Love

After a recent heart-to-heart with a friend, God opened my eyes to the way I've disregarded His love for me for a long time.  That's not to say that I didn't believe God loved me.  I think it's that I didn't acknowledge His love for me in a way that it influenced the way I responded to things happening around me, as if I just didn't take His love to heart.  It's really easy to believe something in your head and not embrace it in your heart. There's a difference.

When God spoke of His love to my heart last week, He did it repeatedly.  It would come to mind many times through the day, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.  I've been praying that He will help me see His love demonstrated throughout the day and that it would become my greatest comfort.  He's surprised me in the various ways He's been doing that.  One such act of love was pretty amazing, so I have to tell you this story. 

Before I took my vacation in August there was a small matter at the church office that I should've taken care of.  Our phone business plan contract was ending, which meant our long distance cost was going to go up.  Well, let's face it.  I'm lazy, and I didn't want to call the phone company to talk about a plan.  I ignored the notice, and I figured, How much can it really increase?  It's not going to be that expensive.  It'll be fine. 

Shows how much I know.  When we got the bill in September I just about fell off my swivel chair.  It was almost double.  DOUBLE.  Uh-oh!  E-LIZ-A-BETH, what have you done?  (That's how my mother would address me when I was in trouble, so I guess that's how I rebuke myself in my own head.)  I dialed the phone company, hoping there was an error on their part because letting our business plan expire could not POSSIBLY have been the reason for such a hike.

Unfortunately, the increase was most undoubtedly due to my negligence.  Yeah, it made THAT big of a difference.  So the nice man found me a new plan and got it set up pretty quickly, in fact, quick enough that I wondered why it ever would've been such a big deal to have called in the first place when I was supposed to.  Live and learn.  Someday I might.

You're probably wondering by now where the love of God comes through in this story.  Well, I'm getting to that.  The other day I was opening mail, and the next phone bill had come.  I was sure that our new plan hadn't kicked in by the time this billing would've already been started, so I expected another high bill.  Do you know what?  It was $25.25.  Yes, that was twenty-five dollars and 25 cents, in case you didn't think you read that correctly.  They had credited our bill for the previous amount. 

That credit was just for me, not the church, but for me - a demonstration of God's love.  Nobody else knew about the bill.  Just me (and the Lord).  It filled me with such gratitude to know He loved me that much.  Isn't His mercy so great, that He would provide something that I did not deserve?  He corrected my wrong.  What love!

That's only one example.  I could go on, but this post will become too long if I did that. 

When was the last time you acknowledged God's love for you?  Do you see see it daily, or do you take it for granted?  Watch for it.  He'll amaze you.

Ephesians 3:16-19... that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.  (NKJV)