God’s Love > Human Love by Lisa Burkhardt Worley

            Have you ever questioned God’s heart for you because you did not receive love from someone else? That happened to me just two days ago when I found myself equating God’s love to human love. Human love had let me down, therefore God must not love me because he allowed it to occur. 

            It took me about 24 hours to right my love boat, but to steer it in the right direction I had to navigate to God’s word to remind myself of all the ways God loves me. I was already in the middle of researching the heart of God in the Psalms so I looked back over all the verses I found.  When I read through them, I realized I needed to make a conscious effort to believe the truths written about God’s heart and his love and that those truths weren’t written for everyone else. They were also for me.  

            Psalm 13:5 says, But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. After reading this, I had to believe that God’s love will NEVER fail me even though human love occasionally lets me down.

            Psalm 37:3,4 is a passage that God had already repeated to me numerous times:  Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.  Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. God says he will give me the desires of my heart but the prerequisite is that I must trust him. Trust has always been difficult for me so that’s why I have reminders to trust all around the area where I write.  I must be willing to trust God when he gives me direction and trust him no matter what is happening to me in the earthly realm.

            Psalm 62:8 says, Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. The definition of refuge is: “A condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble”. This is saying when I trust the Lord, God is a safe place for me to go. His arms are always open to me and he will protect me from danger like a mother bear protects her cubs. Mother bears fiercely protect their cubs to their very end and should never be approached under any circumstances.  Even if you see a cub left on its own, chances are the mother could be lurking close by. God loves us so much he is close by, ready to shelter us from harm. He fights for us to the very end!

            Psalm 112:6-8:  Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever.  He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.  His heart is secure; he will have no fear. No matter what my future is, God loves me so much that he will provide the security I need. I don’t need to worry or fear what may be coming.  God is there for me even in a worst case scenario.

            Psalm 34 and 147 seem to go together:  The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18); He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3).  These are two of the sweetest verses about God’s love in the Psalms.  When our hearts are broken for whatever reason, the Lord is always available to talk it through with us.  He is nearby and he wants to mend our broken hearts.  He lovingly sews up the gaping hole that human love can sometimes leave. He cares when we are hurting.

            I have to believe I hurt God when I questioned his love for me. After I claimed his love letters for myself, I knelt down and repented of my disbelief. Although as Christians we are called to love others as God loves, we often fall short and we must realize we can never out-love our Abba Father.    

            The next time you are hurt by another person, remember that God is not responsible for the pain incurred. He does not play games with your heart.  He is a “tell it like it is God.”  He loves you and he wants you to believe it.  His love is indeed greater than human love.