Devotionals for the Heart: God's true love for humankind will never fail

Unfailing Love
A devotional by Essie Faye

“Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”—1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT)

True love is the greatest experience ever. I’m not talking about that fairytale love or the fictional love that exists in many Hallmark movies during the holidays.

I’m talking about the love that endures everything yet still stands. I’m talking about that love that chooses to stay, even amid your ugliest and even worst times. I’m talking about that love that sacrifices so that you can be well, safe, content, and protected. I’m talking about the love that walks with you through sickness and pain. Love that empathizes with those who’ve experienced loss and struggle. This is true love. It is a lesson that I continue to learn each day. I’m still learning to love God, myself, and others more deeply, more honestly, and more vulnerably. I’m a student of love. It is a patient teacher. I don’t know it all and the more intimately I grow to know true love, the more I am transformed.

God is love (1 John 4:16). All of God’s attributes are also the attributes of love. Love is eternal, transformative, holy, and pure. Love is good, kind, faithful, and trustworthy. Love is safe and wholesome. Love is everything good. Love is a space of health and healing.

In 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul begins a discourse about the transformative attributes of love. He describes love as sacrificial, gentle, powerful, kind, and considerate. He declares that in life, love is the principal thing to acquire and demonstrate to the world. He goes on to emphasize that love is the greatest—that is to say that love is most transformative and necessary to the existence of humanity.

Love is a superpower, not a weakness. Many people, including myself, consider love to be a weakness. When we love others truly, we are vulnerable and we seem to be under the power of another. Love causes us to act in ways that seem at first glance to be weaknesses. Love causes you to give to others, when it would be easier to be selfish. Love causes us to share our lives and remove protective walls around us, in the face of fear and insecurities. Love causes a mother to give everything–blood, bones, even her body–to bear a child. It would seem rather fragile to be impacted by love in such a way. On the contrary, the submission demonstrated in love is powerful, transformative, and empowering.

Love never gives up. Society would tell us that at some point—sooner, rather than later—we should give up. We should give up on ourselves after we’ve made so many mistakes. We should give up on God when He doesn’t do what we want Him to do. We should give up on people when they have a rough go of life. We should give up on relationships when they become inconvenient or challenging. We should just walk away. But God, like true love, never gives up. True love continues to show up when times are hard and when it’s inconvenient. True love forges ahead in the face of obstacles, challenges, and difficulty. That’s what love does.

God pursues us relentlessly. At every turn He seeks to win our hearts, though He is the God of the universe and doesn’t need us (but He loves us). As God, He has no rival and He has no equal. He is omniscient, omnipotent, and preeminent. He is eternal and everything belongs to Him. He is God with and without us. Yet, He loves us and pursues relationship with us. He never gives up on humankind.

Love never loses faith. Faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something. Faith is demonstrated by works, according to the Apostle James. If you want to see love, watch a person’s actions. Actions speak louder than words. Love believes and behaves accordingly. If love is present, it will act. Love will give. Love will care for others. Love will protect. Love will support and show up. Love will celebrate and cherish.

Love is always hopeful. Hope is a feeling of expectation in a certain outcome. Love looks forward to the future. Love carries hope with it even as it celebrates the past. Love works together with faith and hope to create an environment of safety and peace. In hopelessness, love is absent because love brings peace, rest, faith, and hope. God loved the world and sent His Son Jesus into the world to bring hope. He brought hope of salvation and eternal life (John 3:16).

Love endures every circumstance. Love is undefeated. True love never loses. It is resilient and eternally victorious. Love is a gentle giant with massive influence. Love enters the room with gentleness and kindness yet impacts the atmosphere like a massive earthquake. Love shifts atmospheres and changes hearts. Love endures difficult circumstances to emerge victorious. Love patiently endures discomfort so that another person grows, heals, and learns. God is love and He has no end. Like God, true love is eternal.

As we close this devotional, I encourage you to learn to love God with reckless abandon, love yourself like God loves you, love others intentionally and love your enemies as God tells us to in Matthew 5:44-45.

Let’s Pray:

Heavenly Father, 

Thank You for loving us passionately, intentionally, and profoundly. You are True Love and You’re our example on how to love. Help us to love like You do. Help us to practice unfailing love in our relationships with ourselves, You, and others. Help us to harness the transformative power of love and to use it for the furthering of the Gospel and the edification of Your kingdom. Let Your kingdom come. Let Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Let love reign in our hearts and lives. Show us how to love in word and deed. Thank You for hearing and answering us. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection #1: “Your Love Never Fails” by Chris Quilala /Jesus Culture/ Jesus Culture Music. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #2: “One Thing Remains” by Cory Asbury | Bethel Church. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #3: “The Maker” by Chris August. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #4: “No Greater Love” by Rachael Lampa. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #5: “God Loves You” by Jaci Velasquez. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Essie Faye is a woman of faith.

 

She’s a bilingual author, educator, speaker, psalmist, and interpreter.

Essie is the author of the “Finding the Love You Deserve” series for women and teens. She is deeply committed to motivating minorities, women, and youth to heal themselves, love and accept themselves, and pursue God while chasing their dreams and carving out their life’s path.

Essie is a Chicago native.

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Connect with Essie:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_essie_faye/
Read Essie’s YouVersion Devotion Plan here:
https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/58980-grow-through-it-7-healing-practices-that

Devotionals for the Heart: How a Mother's Love is Like God's Love

The Sacrificial Nature of Love
A devotional by Essie Faye

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”—John 3:16 (NKJV)

There’s no love like a mother’s love.

Recently, I spent time with my 70-year-old Mama. She has mothered many children—from her 11 biological children plus four bonus children, her siblings, Sunday school students at church, and children who lived in the neighborhood and surrounding community. My Mom has generously given her love, time, attention, and resources to countless children—positively impacting their lives forever.

But to her biological children, her love has been highly sacrificial in nature. Our mother not only gave her love, time, attention and resources to us; she gave us her DNA and carried us inside of her body. Our mom bore the wear and tear of carrying and nurturing each of us for nine months. She gave her all to make us into healthy babies. After we were born, she lovingly cared for and nurtured us in good times and challenging times. Even now, as an adult, my mom is available for advice, support, and nurturing. A mother’s job is never done because mothers always hold their children in their heart. What an incredible and God-ordained sacrifice!

In many ways, a mother’s love mirrors the love of God for His children. John 3:16 teaches us that God’s love for humankind caused Him to give His only Son for us. Just as mothers give sacrificially to their children, God gave to His children. God’s love is evidenced by His generosity and concern for His creation. He is moved with compassion to provide a solution for mankind’s sin problem.

Because of the original sin of Adam and Eve who were the First Parents of all humankind, all of us were sentenced to face the judgment of our sins and be punished with eternal separation from God (Romans 6:23). But God offered a solution: He gave His Son (Jesus Christ) to save us (John 3:16) and help us be reconciled to Him (2 Corinthians 5:17-19). Now when we let Christ into our hearts and live for Him, we have the hope and promise of eternal life in God’s Presence.

God’s love for humanity prompted Him to give the gift of salvation to us through His Son (Jesus Christ). It is a very generous gift! Generosity is a sure sign of love. God created a solution to solve a seemingly impossible problem. This solution cost Him dearly. Yet He still chose to give us this beautiful gift because He decided that we are worth the sacrifice.

Call to Action:

1. Meditate on God’s love for humankind.

2. What can we give God to show appreciation of His sacrifice for us?

3. Reject the lies of the devil concerning God’s love for you.

4. Accept God’s gift of love and realize its magnitude.

5. Remember: God sacrificed all for you willingly; such great sacrifice deserves acknowledgement and gratitude.

Let’s Pray:

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for your sacrificial love. You loved us so much that you sent Your Son to rescue us. You gave generously. You gave Your one and only. Help us to truly see the magnitude of Your love. Help us to accept Your unconditional love for us. Teach us how to be generous, empathetic, sympathetic, and compassionate toward ourselves and others. Thank You for hearing and answering our prayers. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection: “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” by Selah. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Essie Faye is a woman of faith. 

She’s a bilingual author, educator, speaker, psalmist, and interpreter.

Essie is the author of the “Finding the Love You Deserve” series for women and teens. She is deeply committed to motivating minorities, women, and youth to heal themselves, love and accept themselves, and pursue God while chasing their dreams and carving out their life’s path.

Essie is a Chicago native.

~*~
Connect with Essie:
Website: www.essiefaye.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_essie_faye/
Read Essie’s YouVersion Devotion Plan here: http://bible.us/r/Abn

Devotionals for the Heart: Why we should ask God for a heart like His

A Heart to See as God Sees
A devotional by Monique M. Anderson

“For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” –1 Samuel 16:7 (NKJV)

One day, the Lord spoke to me through a friend of mine.

She approached me randomly while volunteering at church and said, “God wants you to tell Him what you want.” Completely puzzled, I replied, “Huh?” She repeated herself. I stood there in silence, momentarily processing the question.

I feel like this is the “million-dollar question” that we all wish God would ask us. If we had time to practice, we could provide Him with a long list of things. However, when you are not expecting it, it can be daunting to think of everything you want on the spot. Nonetheless, slowly, each desire started to come to mind one by one: what I wanted for myself, my future, my family, my finances, business, ministry, etc. Once I got going, tears started to flow as I thought about the more in-depth things I wanted—certain loved ones to come to know Jesus Christ and give their life to Him, for other loved ones to be delivered or healed.

Once I was done listing everything in my heart, my friend continued to deliver God’s message to me. The Lord told her he would grant me the desires of my heart under one condition: I had to see His people’s hearts the way He did. These are the same people I continually pray for but find challenging to minister to. I had to find a way to see their hearts how God sees them so that I can reach them.

God was giving me a conditional promise. If I did not keep up my end of the bargain, God would not deliver on His. There was just one problem: It was hard for me to see good hearts in challenging people. Particularly in people whose behaviors and actions do not align with a good heart. How could I see what I could not see?

One day, while praying for one of these seemingly difficult people. I started to ask God to help me. I asked Him to help me see this person’s true heart, and not what they portray. It wasn’t easy at first. I did not understand how this would work. Then the Holy Spirit stepped in, and I found myself praying the Word of God over them.

I started to declare Psalm 51:10 (NKJV) by saying, “Create in them a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit.” I also prayed Jeremiah 24:7 (NKJV) by saying, “Give them a heart to know you, Lord, and they will be your child, and you will be their God, and they will return to you with their whole heart.” Finally, I prayed Ezekiel 36:26 (NKJV) by saying, “Give them a new heart, Lord, and put a new spirit within them. Take out their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.”

On and on I went, praying God’s truth over the lies of their character and calling those things that were not as if they were. I spoke about what I wanted to see and what God already sees. I continued this daily until I started to see them the way God does. I began to see the actual pain behind their ugly behavior. I started to see the true intent of their ungodly actions. It was genius. It made it easier to show compassion for those who are challenging to love and minister to.

I don’t know who you are called to help, but not everyone you are sent to will be an easy case. Whether a family member or a stranger, we are all called to help God’s people, especially the challenging ones. We can’t run from them or hide from the assignment. We must tend to those in need. Therefore, I encourage you to pray for what you want to see for your loved one. Pray God’s truth over them so that while you wait on the Lord to change them internally, you can already begin to see what God saw all along.

Let’s Pray: Father God, I thank You for the call. Although challenging, I thank You for equipping me for the task. Thank You for showing me the heart of your people so that I can better serve them and tend to their spiritual needs. Thank You for showing me how to be as compassionate as your Son Jesus Christ. Continue to guide me and teach me to walk in Your ways. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection #1: “A Heart Like Yours” by CeCe Winans. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #2: “Give Me Your Eyes” by Brandon Heath. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Monique M. Anderson is a writer, creator, wife, and bonus mom. She was born and raised in Mount Vernon, NY, where she still resides. She released her always present yet hidden talent of writing to the masses in June 2019.  

Monique always felt like God was chasing after her but was never ready to surrender. Finally, she reached a point in her life when things started going left, and she no longer felt in control. At this point, she was ready to hand over the reins to God. After forming her relationship with God, she always felt compelled to share the revelation’s that His Word gave her. She felt The Holy Spirit prompting her to write but was afraid of what people might think. So, her writing started in her journal. The journal turned into a book and the book into a blog.

Her obedience provided more opportunities. In late 2021, Monique became a partner with the notable YouVersion Bible App as a Content Creator. With her first Bible plan debuting in December of 2021, she will continue to provide content for the app as long as God allows her to.

In 2021, God revealed her prophetic gift and how He wants her to use it. Monique always felt compelled to pray for others but had no idea God would use her in this way. Through this gift as a prophetic intercessor, she’s not just writing about what God can do but showing what God can do.

Since God has shown her who He created her to be, she now feels it is her life’s work to help those taking their first steps in their walk with Jesus Christ. She is doing so through her blog, prayer, and soon-to-be-published works. She is excited to extend her reach to YouTube, podcasts, and speaking engagements soon.

Her blog is the stepping stone to fulfilling the vision God gave to her: “Sharing God’s revelations so we can all better reflect his image and fulfill His purpose.”

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Connect with Monique:
Website: www.yourstrulymoe.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourstruly__moe/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Yours-Truly-Moe-140255684101423