Today we continue our series “God is faithful!” The Lord led me to 2 Corinthians 4. In this passage, we are looking at what it looks like to believe God is faithful. Because of God’s faithfulness towards us, we can withstand and overcome anything!
(2 Corinthians 4:1, 7-13, 16-18 TPT)
1 Now, it’s because of God’s mercy that we have been entrusted with the privilege of this new covenant ministry. And we will not quit or faint with weariness.
7 We are like common clay jars that carry this glorious treasure within, so that this immeasurable power will be seen as God’s, not ours.
8 Though we experience every kind of pressure, we’re not crushed. At times we don’t know what to do, but quitting is not an option.
9 We are persecuted by others, but God has not forsaken us. We may be knocked down, but not out.
10 We continually share in the death of Jesus in our own bodies so that the resurrection life of Jesus will be revealed through our humanity.
11 We consider living to mean that we are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake so that the life of Jesus will be revealed through our humanity.
12 So, then, death is at work in us but it releases life in you.
13 We have the same Spirit of faith that is described in the Scriptures when it says, “First I believed, then I spoke in faith.” So we also first believe then speak in faith.
16 So no wonder we don’t give up. For even though our outer person gradually wears out, our inner being is renewed every single day.
17 We view our slight, short-lived troubles in the light of eternity. We see our difficulties as the substance that produces for us an eternal, weighty glory far beyond all comparison,
18 because we don’t focus our attention on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but the unseen realm is eternal.
Yesterday we looked at Ephesians 3. Let’s go back to it again today.
(Ephesians 3:16-20 TPT)
16 And I pray that he would unveil within you the unlimited riches of his glory and favor until supernatural strength floods your innermost being with his divine might and explosive power.
17 Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life.
18–19 Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!
20 Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.
Yesterday I closed with the following statement. I will start from there today:
So what does this mean for you today? Ephesians 3:17 says, “… the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life.” Let’s talk about it.
1. God’s love is unconditional.
(Romans 5:8 TPT)
But Christ proved God’s passionate love for us by dying in our place while we were still lost and ungodly!
(1 John 4:10 TPT)
This is love: He loved us long before we loved him. It was his love, not ours. He proved it by sending his Son to be the pleasing sacrificial offering to take away our sins.
— God did not wait until we were living right or holy before he showered us with His love. God loved us despite our performance, not because of it. And guess what? He loves us with that very same unconditional love today.
— Nothing you did caused God to start loving you, and nothing you can ever do will make Him stop. God’s love is not based on your performance.
— Those who focus on performance-based religion struggle with embracing the love of God because they think (consciously or subconsciously) that God’s love for them is based on their performance towards Him. The truth is, if God only gave us what we deserved, we would all be miserable. God loves us because He is love.
— Love is not something God does or something He gives. Love is WHO HE IS!
— God loved you before you ever got here. His love cannot be based on your performance because He loved you before you could perform.
— God wants you to know just how much He loves you. When you believe and receive the love of God, all your fears roll away. Perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18).
— God’s love for you is not based on anything that you do or fail to do. God has chosen to love you. I pray you open your heart to His love.
2. God’s love is unsearchable/endless.
(Ephesians 3:17-19 ERV)
17 I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love.
18 And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is.
19 Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.
— The Bible teaches us that God’s ways are above our ways, and His thoughts are above our thoughts (Isaiah 55). His love is above our love as well. It’s hard for humans to comprehend the love of God because His love is far beyond what humans consider love to be.
— Our concept of love is limited. God’s love is limitless and unsearchable. There is no earthly comparison to the love of God. God loves you with an inexhaustible, everlasting, and unfailing love.
— Paul said, “Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love.” God’s love is so amazing that it takes prayer and the Holy Spirit for us to understand it. But if we do, Paul goes on to say, “ Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.” The love of God is the key that unlocks your heart to God’s best.
3. Your life will change forever the day you trust and believe the love God has for you.
(1 John 4:16,17 TPT)
16 We have come into an intimate experience with God’s love, and we trust in the love he has for us. God is love! Those who are living in love are living in God, and God lives through them.
17 By living in God, love has been brought to its full expression in us so that we may fearlessly face the day of judgment, because all that Jesus now is, so are we in this world.
— God is looking for opportunities to SHOW His Love in your life on His behalf, not your behalf.
— John told us to “trust in the love he has for us,” because “God is love!”
— When you trust and rest in God’s love, Paul says, “…the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life.”
— In this passage, John talks about fearlessly facing God the Father on the Day of Judgment. I don’t know about you, but as a child, when I was religious, I was afriad of the Day of Judgment. But John tells us that we can be fearless on that day. Why? Because we know God loves us. When you are convinced that God loves you, you can stand before God the Father and say, “As Jesus is, so am I!” But you will never stand with that type of confidence if you don’t believe God loves you.
Say this as we close, “I believe and I receive the love God has for me!”
Maintain this thought in your heart every day: “GOD LOVES ME and I know it!”
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of LEVELING UP for me. I LEVEL UP by embracing Your love. I enter this day with fearless confidence. My confidence is rooted in the revelation of Your love for me. You love me. I am loved by God. I am God’s beloved. I was created in Your image. I am Your likeness. I look like You, and You look like me. I look like my Daddy. When people see me, they see You because You live IN me, and I live IN You. The only way I can truly SAY and BELIEVE these things is by BELIEVING and TRUSTING in Your love for me. I know You love me. Therefore, I enter this day, and every day, determined to BE LIKE YOU in this world! Not because I am so good, but because You are… simply because YOU LOVE ME! GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
