Have you ever wondered: “does God love me?”

Sometimes, when life goes “left”, I have wondered. Occasionally, I’ve felt lonely, unloved, or as though I was just going through the motions of life. It’s during those times I question life as ask myself “does God love me?” or “Am I all alone in this life?”

This doesn’t happen often, but it has happened. I’m being honest. Please, don’t judge me.

Well, years ago I learned a wonderful lesson about God’s love and it really resonated with me. So much that I thought about it today.

I hope it will with you too.

Here’s the thing: the two teachers of this lesson were totally unexpected – my husband and my [then] three-year-old son, John-John.

A “does God love me” example

Let me tell you how my hubby and my kid answered my “does God love me?” question.

[Note: If you know me personally, please do not say my husband’s last name or the name of my church here. Sometimes I write things people don’t agree with and I don’t need them “rolling up” on me in real life. Yes, it has happened before.]

As a busy pastor, my husband typically does more in one Sunday than most people accomplish in a week!

At any rate, yesterday, during morning worship he stepped out of the pulpit to handle an issue. Issues happen from time to time and I don’t think much of it. In fact, I didn’t even notice much.

Not so with our kid! Our sweet little son caught a glimpse of daddy walking down the aisle. His big, brown eyes moved as my husband moved. They were locked on him.

With his little outstretched arms, he immediately cried as loud as he could: “DADDY! DADDY!”

I glanced over my shoulder to see what all the ruckus was about.

As it were, my husband was standing in the back of the church talking to some deacons. He was far enough from us that I bet couldn’t hear John-John over the booming worship music.

But, relentless in his efforts, John-John continued yelling. “Daddy!” “Daddy!”

John-John didn’t care that “Pastor” was handling an important situation or that the weight of the entire church service rested on his shoulders.

Nah, he just wanted his daddy.

All he knew, in his little mind, was he craved the loving embrace of his Father’s, strong, familiar arms.

Suddenly, my husband noticed his toddler with tears now streaming down his little round face and those chubby, little outstretched arms.

Almost instantly, my husband hurried to John-John.

Then, in one svelte swoop, with his two, big, strong hands, he reached down and scooped up the sobbing little tike, gave him a little squeeze and continued talking to the deacon.

As a result, all was well in John-John’s world once again.

God sees us and hears our longing cries too.

As you know, the Bible tells us in Psalm 46:1 that God is a very present help in our time of trouble.

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1

Think about that for a moment.

The God of the moon, the stars and the universe loves you so much that when you cry, He reaches down from heaven to comfort you and hold you through your anxious moments.

See the connection between a father and the Father?

Like with my husband, other “business” must wait when God’s child calls out for Him. You’re that important to HIm.

When you need Him, He is closer than your next breath.

He’s in every single heartbeat and carries you faithfully through your trial – whether you feel Him or not. He’s there.

The best part: unlike a human father,
God can ALWAYS hear your cry.

Music could NEVER drown it out – nothing could!

Nor is He ever too busy for you.

You must cry out to Him

Don’t be ashamed of your “cry” to God.

In my baby boy’s scenario, the cry was very, very significant.

For example, if John-John had not cried out, my husband would have likely continued on with his church business and returned to the pulpit.

It was the cry that drew him.

The tears garnered – no… demanded – his attention.

Luke 11:9-13 tells us we can continue asking, keep on crying out and never stop praying to the Lord and God will give us what is best for us.

Check out Luke 11:9-13 New King James Version (NKJV) below:

Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking

⁹“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

¹⁰For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

¹¹If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?

¹²Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

¹³If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

Psalm 88 also reminds me of John-John’s type of cry – except David is delivering it in the Psalm on his own behalf:

1. O Lord, God of my salvation,
I cry out day and night before you.

²Let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry!

That plea.

That cry David references moves God to answer.

David cried until he caught the attention of the One that could help.

Don’t allow pride to hinder or stifle your cry, Christian woman. Cry loud, long and persistently to your heavenly Father.

Here is the definitive answer to the question: “does God love me?”

YES!!!

God loves you and has loved you before the very foundation of the world.

I think most people doubt God’s love because God doesn’t do what they want Him to do.

Just like a spoiled child pouts when he doesn’t get the gift he wanted, they label God unloving because He didn’t “obey” them in some way.

Examples…

God allowed someone to die; they think God doesn’t love them.

God didn’t give them the job they wanted: they think God doesn’t love them.

They lose something they hold dear; they think God doesn’t love them.

This mindset is immature and spiritually childish. It’s all rooted in at “tit for tat” type of love. In other words: you do what I say and that means you love me. Childish, faithless and silly – that’s how I describe this sort of thinking.

Do you agree?

Need further proof God loves you?

It’s in the Bible and it’s your choice to believe it or live with that gaping hole in your heart.

The “hole” that makes you wonder “is there more to life than this?”

Choose to trust God loves you. Here’s proof straight from the contract (the Bible):

Q. Does God love me?

A. How precious is your unfailing love, O God! – Psalm 36:7

Q. Does God love me?
A. Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever. – Psalm 136:26

Q. Does God love me?
A. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. – Galatians 2:20

Q. Does God love me?
A. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved. – Ephesians 2:4-5

Q. Does God love me?
A. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:37-39