Jesus Loves Me
Each of us has a desire to be loved unconditionally. We long
for the closeness of a good friend: Someone we can talk to about whatever our
need is at a given moment. Someone we can talk to when we are so excited we
can’t stand it. Someone who won’t disappoint us or fail us. Someone who will not give us love and then
take it away.
I had always thought that when I got married I would finally have this
person in my life. I have a wonderful, caring husband. I’ve often said that
he’s nearly perfect. But you know what, he is not perfect. I hope this doesn’t
come as a shock to him if he reads this. Anyway, sometimes perhaps he hasn’t
always understood my feelings. Maybe he’s had an expectation of me that I
couldn’t fulfill. Or maybe he’s just been a human being and let me down.
I had a most awesome mother. Now I didn’t always think that when I was a
young child because she was an authority figure in my life. But as I grew older
my mother and I became friends. I cherished her more than anyone in this world.
But she wasn’t perfect either. She occasionally let me down and didn’t
understand me.
I’ve had some very special friends in my life. People who I thought
loved me just the way I was. But they too let me down. They talked about me
behind my back. They tried to change me because I didn’t quite fit their mold.
Or perhaps there were other ways I felt disappointment in the relationship.
It seems there is always something missing in our hearts.
There is a restlessness that is always present. And sometimes we just
can’t put a finger on it. Why do our hearts cry out for that intimacy that no
one seems to be able to give to us? Is it that we look in all the wrong places
for love and relationship? People will always let us down, not because they are
bad but because they are human. So who DO we go to with our broken hearts? With
whom can we share our every desire and know we will be understood? How can we
confidently trust someone without even a tiny speck of worry?
There is one Person who will never
let us down. One who loves us so much that He can’t take His eyes off of us. So
He holds us in the palm of His hand and writes our name there. And that person
is Jesus. He says: "My beloved, I am your Father and you are My child. I
will never leave you. NEVER! I will watch over you wherever you go. Even into
your old age, when your hair has turned grey and you’ve grown weak, I will
sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you when you cannot go on. I will
never leave you nor forsake you. So, you can say with confidence, the Lord is
my helper. I will not
be afraid.” Again He says: “Nothing in all creation will ever be
able to separate you from My love that is in Christ Jesus your Lord. So be
strong and courageous. Do
not be afraid for I am with you. I am your Father and you are My
child. I live with you and walk with you."
"My beloved, I know that you have become weary and feel the weight
of the world on your shoulders.
Come to Me. I will give you rest. Bring all your anxiety and fear to
Me and leave them
with Me. I will keep you in perfect peace when you keep your mind
on Me and trust Me. For I care about you."
The restlessness of which I speak is placed there by God so that we have
a need and desire for relationship . . . relationship with HIM, for things
eternal because this world is not our home. We must not get too comfortable
down here, so He keeps gently prodding us and wooing us to Him.
I have struggled with this for a good bit of my life. Sometimes I’ve
been let down by a friend. Of course sometimes I, also, have let others down.
Sometimes I have felt so hurt and I didn’t know where to turn. Sometimes my
heart was filled with anxiety over various situations in my life and so worry
took over. I needed that shoulder I could cry on and find the comfort I longed
for. The ache in my heart was just too much to bear and I wanted to feel at
PEACE. I wanted to know that Jesus loved ME.
Back when our son was about 12 years old I was doing some tidying up in
his bedroom. Years before I had put a small wall hanging above his bed with the
words of the song, "Jesus Loves Me". That day I stood at the foot of
his bed and read the words, “Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes,
Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.” Good words, I thought. And then my
thoughts went something like this: hmmmmmm, I’ve always been taught that Jesus
loves the whole world. All the people in
Africa or Japan or Germany or China. That was a given. But NEVER had I sung
those words like this: “YES!! Jesus loves ME!! YES!! Jesus loves ME!! YES!! And
so forth.” I stood transfixed on that spot as the impact of those words sank
into my heart. Jesus loves Rosalie. WOW!! All of a sudden “all the people of
the world” took on a whole new meaning because yes, Jesus did love us all but
He also loved ME!! That was a lot for me to take in. And as I thought about
what that meant it struck me that He wanted to have a personal relationship
with me. So often I had felt lost in the fray. It just seemed like I was always
fighting for a spot near Him. But He loved so many people that I felt very
small and insignificant to Him. That day my thinking began to change. He loves
ME. That meant I have someone who will not, no . . . someone who cannot let me down.
He loves me and will protect me and will hear me and will understand the
longings in my heart. He will keep His eye on me ALL the time. He will ALWAYS
be with me.
And from that moment to this my view has been changing. I now have a
new-found trust and faith in a Person who will always love me, believe me and
be with me. Jesus loves ME.
And if there was anything I could leave with the reader today and plant
it deeply into your heart and soul, it is that Jesus loves YOU. In all the
chances and changes of life, He will never let you down. You can count on Him
to understand the deepest ache and longings of your heart. He will never leave
you.
So the privilege that comes with this is instead of dwelling on
confusion and anxiety, we may present all our concerns to Him in prayer. Then
after that let our minds dwell
on things that are true and right and pure, things that are lovely and
admirable. And the peace that will come over us, God’s peace, we will not be able to
explain to others. No one can understand it. But we can have it. Jesus is our father and
we are his child. He will never leave us. NEVER!!
He will always watch over us.
Jesus loves me. Jesus loves you. Nothing can ever change that.