Love ? I love love love you. (Photo credit: @Doug88888)
Suggested Reading: Psalm 31:7-8
It is difficult to be interested in the emotions of someone we don’t care for. On the other hand when we love someone, we are sincerely interested in their emotions.
Today, when someone’s emotions are consistently invalidated, it is called a kind of emotional abuse. We all desire to be understood and validated. Love and understanding go hand-in-hand and it is exceedingly frustrating and painful when someone we think loves us, disregards and shows no interest in our emotions or make no effort to understand where we’re coming from. But there is one comforting thought provided for us throughout Scripture: God loves you and understands you, even when no one else does.
In this psalm, David praises God for His love and deliverance. He evidently has a deep understanding of God’s love. He understands that the release he received from his affliction did not come from his own planning and power, but from the love of God. He understands that the mere fact that God took an interest in the anguish of his soul is proof of God’s love for Him.
No matter how insignificant it may seem, we take a keen interest in the emotions of our children –most especially when they are upset. The reason is simple: We love and care for them deeply. When our child cries over a lost toy, we don’t brush it aside as rubbish. Instead, we make an effort to put ourselves in their situation and understand how upsetting it must be from their perspective.
God did exactly that. He put Himself in our situation, so to speak. He became a Man, so that He could share in our humanity with all its joys and pains. And therefore, we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses.
David knew he could take his cares to God and that God will be sincerely interested in the reason for his anguish –even if it appears insignificant to an all-powerful God from our human perspective. He understood that God will put Himself in his place and take an interest in what bothers him. Jesus later confirmed this when He said that God even numbers the hairs on our heads. I believe that if someone is interested in me to the point that He will number of hairs on my head, then there must be very little else about me that will not interest him.
Having experienced God’s deliverance, this psalm is much more than just a song to David. He has been personally touched by God’s love and therefore he declares that he will be glad and rejoice in the knowledge of this love. For so many out there, the love of God is just a term. They have not had a personal experience of His love. They have not tasted it. They have not felt it warm their hearts. It doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love them, it’s just that they haven’t had a personal encounter with this Love.
I read somewhere that we should be slow to judge someone who has never encountered true love, for love has the capacity to melt the hardest of hearts. My prayer is that all those who seek for love, and have been doing so looking in all the wrong places, will have a personal and intimate encounter with the love of Christ –the kind of love where a man will lay down His life for His friends. Notice how God’s expression of love for us was more than just emotion; it was an action. He came and took the punishment we deserved. I know this one thing: No one who has experienced this love can ever be the same again. I pray that people will know this love for themselves.
I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:17-19)
Related articles
- God’s Love Is For YOU! (thelifechurchofdesplaines.wordpress.com)
- God’s Love Never Fails (wecandoallthings.wordpress.com)
- Jesus understands (gemsofgodsgrace.wordpress.com)
- Prayer of a Depressed Person (thoughtsonscripture.com)
I love this…and being reminded just “made my day”! Thanks, Ula…”you are ‘sunshine’ to us”! His Sunshine through you is a prepetual blessing! — Off to share…
You’re very welcome Jerry and thanks for the continual encouragement. Yes, all good things come from Him!
[...] God Loves You and Understands You (jesuscarriesme.com) [...]
Great post! Thanks for the ping back.
You’re very welcome, Tammy! Loved your post and thanks for stopping by here
[...] God Loves You and Understands You (jesuscarriesme.com) [...]
What I love best is that He knows me inside and out, He knows when I get up and when I sit down, He knows me coming in and coming out. When I think of that I am just beside myself that only He knows me this well, I don’t even know myself this well.
Very true, Desiray! The knowledge that He knows us better than we even know ourselves and still loves us, is very comforting, especially when we become disillusioned with our weaknesses. Thanks for sharing your insight.
Thank you for linking back to my blog (wecandoallthings.wordpress.com)!! Great post.
God bless,
@WhitWallace
Oh, you are very welcome, Whitney. You have a lovely blog. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Ula! I don’t think I could ever get tired of hearing how much God loves us. No matter the circumstances that we are in, in the high or the low valleys of life, He is faithful to us.
Great post and thanks for the encouragement!
Blessings,
Mary Pacheco
aka: SeashoreMary
Yes, He is faithful in everything, Mary. Also in His love towards us. I can never get enough of hearing about His love either! Thanks for sharing your thoughts
A long time ago I decided to be a nurse so I went to a two year program and began an intense education. During that time I learned how intricate and detailed our systems are—I mean, every cell and organism had not only a function but “personality”. God keeps each organism running and intact. It strikes me that scientists have been looking for the “glue” that holds the universe together and I’m inclined to believe it’s Him. If He’s involved in the small details of microbiology (and smaller), then my concerns and cares mean more than I know.
Jonny, I can relate to that experience. In my first year my course included anatomy and physiology. Well-meaning people warned me that the more I learn, the more I will be inclined to doubt the existence of God. However, the very opposite happened. The more I learnt about the human body, the more I became convinced that there absolutely must be a God because everything is working together with such gentle and mathematical precision, that this could never have happened by accident. Later in my life, when I became a child of God, I am even more in awe of His wisdom and tender love. He certainly holds everything together, in our bodies, in our relationships, in this universe! Thanks so much for adding this perspective on God’s love for us.