Looking for Love?

All of us are born with a need for love and acceptance. God made us this way.
Studies show that babies who are held and loved do far better than those who
are not.

Because of this innate need, many of
us spend our lives looking for love—sometimes in all the wrong places. We want
to belong, to be part of something or someone. We seek acceptance and a sense
of belonging wherever we go.

Being driven by our need can cause
all kinds of problems. It might lead us to cling to our children, smothering
rather than loving them, and stifling their growth and development. Or it might
tempt us to live in a fantasy world, dreaming of a knight in shining armor who
will fill the void in our lives.

It always causes us to look to others for affirmation: family members,
friends, co-workers and so on. We rely on their esteem to convince ourselves we
are worthy of esteem.

The truth is that as Christians, we
are already fully
accepted in the Beloved. We are members of God’s family, precious daughters of
the King, who are totally and unconditionally loved!

There isn’t anything we can do to
earn this love. God freely bestows it upon us, and He will never discard those
who seek Him. He has assured us, “‘The one who comes to Me I will certainly not
cast out’” (John 6:37, NKJV).

We do not need to look for satisfaction anywhere else. Yet, even though I
know this, at times I have found myself seeking affirmation from others—and
feeling unloved and rejected when I didn’t receive it.

When I asked the Lord about my actions and responses He
said, “Whenever you look to others for
love or acceptance, you will be
disappointed. You are already loved; you are already accepted by Me. Come to Me
and receive your fill, then you will be able to be a giver of love. Seek to
share My love with others rather than looking to receive it from them. As you
give, you will receive because you will reap what you sow.

“Seek to accept others even as I
have accepted and continue to accept you—not because you’re perfect but because
I love you and count you worthy of the price of My blood. You are a gift to me,
bought and cherished. Cherish others as I cherish you. Love others as I love
you.”

Now that’s affirmation!  Because I am already accepted and loved beyond measure, I
don’t need to
look to others for love. I can love them without any expectation of reciprocity. I can
release them to be who they are without placing demands upon them. I can love
unconditionally.

They are also free not to do something for me just because
I did something for them. In fact, Jesus told us that it is better for us to
invite those to dinner who can’t
repay us. As a matter of fact, we actually receive a greater reward when we do
something for people who can’t or don’t pay us back—it is a greater indicator of our
love.

If you are looking for love, quit
looking in all the wrong places and find it in your God.  His unconditional love will embrace and
transform you into a vessel of beauty and honor. Then His love will flow
through you to others and bring His healing, restoring presence.  Receive it from Him that you may give it out—and watch
how you reap what you sow!

PRAYER POWER WEEK OF 2/14/2011

As you pray this week embrace God’s unconditional love for
you, let it fill you heart, express it back to Him and share it with others.
Ask Him to direct your steps to those who desperately need to know they are
loved so that you can be a vessel of reconciliation and acceptance. Pray for
those struggling through personal and economic loss as well as the ravages of
winter weather. Pray for Australia’s recovery from the cyclone and floods and
ask the Lord to intervene for His glory in Egypt, Israel, the Middle East and
our own nation.  Jer. 31:3; John
6:37; 1 John 1:4