1. I am carried in the arms of God and held “close to his heart”. He tends his flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young (Isaiah 40:11). One day walking along the river on a gravel bank, I noticed a tiny leaf perfectly tucked inside a large leaf. The stem of the small leaf was lying directly on top of the stem of the large leaf. God assures me that I am safe and secure with his love. He has wrapped his arms around me, and I am held close to his heart.
2. I am precious in the eyes of God. Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life Isaiah 43:3. God considers me precious. Now that I have placed myself in His hands, no one can remove me from His loving and merciful care. His love for me knows no bounds.
3. I am “dearly loved” by God. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience Colossians 3:12. God is enthralled with each and every one who seeks him. Jesus had a moment in time in the midst of a pressing crowd when he felt the touch of a woman who had an incurable disease. Immediately, he stopped to find this one person. He persisted in his search for this woman. Jesus found her and healed her. If I reach out for God, I will be found by Him and He will begin a healing process within me.
4. Great is God’s love for me! For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us Psalm 103:11-12. God’s love for me is beyond measurement and dimension. Who knows the extent of the heavens? Who can estimate the distance between the East and the West? God’s love is beyond human description. In God’s forgiveness, my transgression is completely removed and forgotten.
5. I am God’s treasured possession. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine Exodus 19:5. God, whose power to create is unlimited, has selected me as his treasured possession. Just as men risk their lives to seek an earthly treasure, so God has searched the whole earth and found me to be worthy of being his treasured possession. I am deemed chosen, loved and treasured above all other things.
6. God shines his face on me when I seek him. “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace Numbers 6:24-26”. Restore us, LORD God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved Psalm 80:19. Newborns seek the face of their parents and are captivated by the one who holds them close. God turns his face toward those who seek him that we also might be captivated by him and forever bonded to the one who shines his face on us. I have seen the bond of peace in the eyes of an infant and I have felt the bond of peace in the gaze of my Savior.
7. I have been redeemed and purchased for a price. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life John 3:16. I had a debt to pay. God had the price and the payment for my debt. The price was Himself, His son Jesus, and the payment was His Son’s life. What greater love is this than of one who gave His only Son to die, who gloriously raised Him back to life, and then who lifted Him up high to be at His right hand for all eternity!
8. I am specifically chosen and called by name to be loved by God. For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you I Thessalonians 1:4. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light 1 Peter 2:9. Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ Jude 1:1. Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD called me; from my mother’s womb he has made mention of my name Isaiah 49:1. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his sheep by name and leads them out John 10:3. The fact that I am chosen by God implies that I am also honored. It denotes value inherent in me and in each of us for we are all called out. As a shepherd has chosen the sheep in his flock, so God has chosen me to be loved. He calls me by name into his love.
9. I am a child of God. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children Romans 8:16. See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him 1 John 3:1. I am created, named, and loved as a child of God. God’s Holy Spirit gives evidence to me that I belong to God. I am greatly loved and cherished by my Father. The world cannot comprehend this relationship, but I can have full assurance that I am a child of the King!
10. I am part of God’s family. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers Hebrews 2:11. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus Ephesians 2:6. I am raised up and seated with Christ, as part of God’s family. I am considered as a brother (sister) with Christ and with others who believe in God. Kinship with God’s family should feel like the lost son upon returning to his father after squandering all his possessions and receiving a feast (Luke 15:11-32).
11. I have an inheritance from God. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time 1 Peter 1:3-4. In faith I believe that through God’s mercy, I have an inheritance that is saved for me by God. This is an inheritance of eternal life, forever to be and to live together with God in his love. It is the feeling and reality of being home, a sense of being where I belong. This inheritance is kept for me by the hands of the Almighty God!
12. I am alive to Christ and dead to my transgressions through grace. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved Ephesians 2:4. Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness Lamentations 3:22-23. God has defeated my sin and has made me alive. Each morning, I am awakened through the Holy Spirit who is in me. God’s mercies are new every morning without fail. God is rich in mercy and grace.
13. I am loved with a love established long before time began. Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old Psalm 25:6. Time is relevant to this world, but not to the existence of God. Time is relevant to earth but it is impossible to correlate time with the heavens. The speed of time as we know it here on earth is altered even for those at the International Space Station. The love for which I am loved by God is as old and as eternal as God’s existence. It is a love that is timeless.
14. I am surrounded by God’s unfailing love. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him Psalm 32:10. God’s love is my protection plan as I live each day. It is a permanent and reliable shield of love that the devil’s fiery darts cannot penetrate. It allows me to take my stand and transforms my weakness into strength.
15. I am protected and made victorious by God’s love. It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them. You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob Psalm 44:3-4. God is my warrior and King and I am not only protected but I am declared victorious. The light of God’s face and his right hand are upon my life because God loves me. Of whom should I be afraid? Of what should I be afraid?
16. I am comforted by God’s love. May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant Psalm 119:76. God promises he will be alongside me during times of trial. His unfailing love will ease the pain and difficulties of my affliction. His presence brings strength and hope to my life. He promises never to forsake me. He will guide me when I do not know the way forward.
17. I am crowned with God’s love. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, he redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s Psalm 103:2-5. “To crown” means to complete, perfect, or to put the finishing touches on something or someone. God has provided me with forgiveness, redemption, healing, renewal, and satisfaction. The finishing touch is God’s hand crowning me with his love and compassion. God is honoring me specially and uniquely.
18. I am healed with God’s love. “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them Hosea 14:4.” The complexity of God’s character and nature is unfathomable. This verse assures me that God’s love is not dependent on me but on his character and nature. This is how then that I love others, not reliant on my own ability but relying on the richness and purity of God’s love. Therefore, I also can love others freely just as God loves me freely.
19. I am encouraged and hopeful in God’s love. 2 Thessalonians 2:16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. Spring is the assurance that life holds promise and hope. It is the promise of new growth on old and established plants that have laid dormant for the winter. I know and I wait in great expectation for life to spring forth. I can also know and wait for God’s encouragement and hope that will spring forth in my life to bring strength to each day.
20. I can know God’s love. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, 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 3:17b-19. As spring is wrapping its warm greenness around me, I am grasping how God might wrap his love around me this day. Taking in the day, breathing in and out, realizing that God is not only present but actively integrated into my life in such a way that I must not fail to open my senses and see in what ways God might demonstrate his love for me today.
21. I can never be separated from God’s love. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord Romans 8:38-39. God is mine and I am his. The creator’s hand and the same hand that lifted Jesus from the grave is holding my hand today. There is nothing past, current, or hidden somewhere in the future that can take God’s hand away from me. God’s love is mine now and forevermore.
22. I am invited to dine with God. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in and eat with him, and he with me Revelation 3:20. Early in the morning, I can hear God’s voice inviting me to spend a day with him. It is an endearing voice full of warmth and love to say to me that he has all I need and would I please dine with him. How can I resist? The fare is delectable and the drink is satisfying.
23. God is faithful in his love to me. For I have always been mindful of your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness Psalm 26:3. When I arise in the morning, I depend on the certainty of the rising of the sun to light my day. As certain as I know the sun will rise from its tent and march across the sky, I can count on the love of God for each day. As the moon rises in the night sky, I can be certain of God’s faithful love through all the dark hours. God’s love is dependable.
24. God’s love is being poured into my heart by the Holy Spirit. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us Romans 5:5. The Missouri Ozarks have a high concentration of natural springs. Many of these springs produce millions of gallons of spring water daily. God’s love is like a spring that pours forth millions of gallons of love daily. That would be like more of God’s love than I could absorb on any given day. I am immersed in God’s love from head to toe.
25. God’s love to me is boundless. For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies Psalm 108:4. Of all that I could imagine like the possibility of travel to live on other planets, or communications from life elsewhere, God’s love is greater. God’s love is bigger than my world and not held to any earthly measure. It is incomprehensible in its boundaries. It is from here in my heart to “higher than the heavens” and beyond light years away.
26. God’s love for me is never withheld. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me Psalm 66:20! God’s love is with me all day. I may not always feel the depth of his love for me, but I can be assured that it is present in me. No matter who I am or what may change in my life each day, God’s love is unchanging and unceasing. God’s love will always be available.
27. God’s love is totally satisfying. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want Psalm 23:1. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh Luke 6:21. Eating a good meal in the company of friends is satisfying. Sitting in the sun’s rays and soaking in the warmth is satisfying. Relaxing in my chair on the porch at the end of a day is satisfying. Allowing God to wrap his comforting love around me is satisfying. I can be so enraptured by this love of God and find it so satisfying, that I find myself not wanting any thing.
28. God will show the wonder of his love to me. Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes Psalm 17:7. One morning sitting on my porch, I heard a bird singing. I found it sitting on a short limb directly in front of the porch. It was the yellow mate of the summer tanager. I was dumbfounded at the beautiful song being sung to me. God’s love is direct, clear, and as simple as the song of the female summer tanager on a warm summer’s day.
29. God will direct my heart to know his love. May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance 2 Thessalonians 3:5. When God speaks to me, he speaks directly to my heart. His direction and guidance is always and only farther into his love for me. I will open my heart to recognize and will declare God’s love for me. Opening my heart to God’s love will expose my vulnerabilities, but it is essential for the deepening of my relationship with him.
30. God directs a song of love in my heart. By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me – a prayer to the God of my life Psalm 42:8. But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble Psalm 59:16. God’s love is directed toward my heart each day. Birds sing every day but I do not always listen to them. If I pause to listen, I can hear the song of the birds, and if I listen, I can hear God’s song of love. I believe that just as I learn to identify birds by being present to hear their song, I can also learn to identify God’s voice by being present for his song of love to me.
31. God’s love brings joy to my heart. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy Psalm 45:7. I have been chosen, blessed, and honored. Now, I am anointed by God to receive all that he has for me. God intends to set me apart by anointing me with the oil of joy. God desires to intensify all of his love and compassion for me and the culmination is the emotion of joy. This is not just a feeling for today but a deep and lasting joy for a lifetime and beyond.
32. I will dwell in God’s love forever. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever Psalm 23:6. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am John 14:2-3. I know, I believe and I live in the certainty of the timelessness of God’s love. That God’s love existed for me before time began and will exist for me when time no longer exists. I need not fear the past, the present, or the future for my God has wrapped all of me up in his compassionate and merciful love.
Not to us,
Lord,
not to us
but to your name
be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness.
Psalm 115:1