How to Receive God's Love
A lot of times, when we think about reaching the great destiny God has planned for us, we don’t consider the important foundation of receiving God’s love.
God’s plans for us involve us loving and serving others in the unique sphere He has assigned us to. But in order to give God’s love to the world, we first have to receive it ourselves. If we don’t position ourselves to receive God’s love, we will have nothing to give. We were made for more love, to receive and give more love.
Hindrances to receiving God’s love for us and ways to overcome them
1. Fear
I think one of the first barriers to receiving God’s love we must overcome is fear. Fear can creep into our hearts for many reasons, such as through shame and trauma. The root of our fear must be directly addressed in order to walk in freedom.
If we recognize that fear is preventing us from receiving God’s love for us, we first need to spend some time thinking about what is causing our fear. Is it due to shame, the lie that we aren’t good enough for God’s love because we’ve made too many mistakes? Is it trauma due to how others have failed us in the past, so we believe God will fail us too?
Whatever is causing our fear needs to be addressed, healed and replaced with the truth.
By spending time in prayer before God and asking Him to expose the roots of our fear, we can be set free through repenting of the lie and agreeing with the truth. Repentance simply means “a change of mind.” As we change our minds, aligning our thought processes with the truth, we will be delivered from the fears that keep us from receiving God’s love for us in a deeper measure.
This can be done by:
confessing the lie
breaking agreement with the lie
declaring the truth
2. Trauma
I want to specifically address trauma, which can often be a root of our fear of receiving God’s love. I have personally dealt with this myself, so I understand that healing is a process, and it takes time. Whether it takes weeks, months or years, God is faithful to heal us and bring us into complete wholeness. No matter what the trauma was caused by, God is faithful to deliver us.
Listen! I hear my lover’s voice. I know it’s Him coming to me—leaping with joy over mountains, skipping in love over the hills that separate us, to come to me…Now He comes closer, even to the places where I hide. He gazes into my soul, peering through the portal as He blossoms within my heart. (Song of Songs 2:8-9 TPT)
There is no mountain of trauma too great for Jesus. His love can heal any hurt. His gentle love uproots trauma, removes it and causes the garden of our hearts to blossom again. He draws us to His heart and leads us out of the trauma that held us captive for so long.
Can you hear Him tenderly saying to you today:
Arise, my dearest. Hurry, my darling. Come away with me! I have come as you have asked to draw you to my heart and lead you out. For now, is the time, my beautiful one. (Song of Songs 2:10 TPT)
3. Busyness
Our modern world is full of distractions that battle for our attention on a daily basis. So, it’s essential that we intentionally make time with God our first priority. Spending time with God alone in worship, prayer and in studying His Word is so important if we desire to develop a closer relationship with Him.
If we are so busy running here and there and checking things off our to-do list and miss spending time with God, we will eventually burnout. Even if we are ministering and pouring out our lives to serve others, we still need to have quiet time alone with the Lord to refresh and refuel. Spending time with the Lord is the foundation for long-lasting rest and a life of abundance.
I hope these tips have encouraged you in practical ways to position yourself to receive God’s love for you in a deeper way. Creating space to soak in God’s presence is essential for our wholeness and for a life well lived.