“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray…” Matthew 18:12-13
“And oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine And I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, You give Yourself away Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God…” Cory Asbury
- A big component of the Help Club for Moms is praying with a prayer partner for 10 minutes once a week. If you don’t have a prayer partner, pray and ask God to bring her to you!! He is faithful and will provide!
- It’s time to meet with your Jesus! Oh, how He loves you and me! Pray today for God to speak to your heart, and help you to feel His love—the wide and long and high and deep love of Jesus (Ephesians 3:18).
- Read today’s Scripture out loud slowly. Try to imagine the story in your mind. Ask God to help you see yourself the way He sees you, holy and dearly loved. You are His daughter, a child of the King of Kings. Write down what God speaks to you.
The Reckless Love of God
Many years ago, during a particularly difficult season in my life, I remember sitting in my then counselor’s office and telling her through tears how hard my last week had been and about a few things I had said and done. I will never forget what she said in response to my words, “Wow! You can be impulsive!”
At first, I couldn’t believe that what she was saying could possibly be true, but then I started to ponder my conversations and how I had responded. After thinking about it, I realized she was right. I can be reactive and insecure in my thoughts and conversations, especially when I find myself in that deep, dark place of despair and depression.
Can you relate, sister? Are you sometimes impulsive? Do you often respond to people in your life in ways you wish you wouldn’t? Well, me too. The struggle is real.
At that point in my life, I remember desperately wanting to run away. Life was just too, too much. Disappointments multiplied, and the next thing I knew, I was driving down the freeway wishing I could get away from it all. One particularly dark day, I distinctly remember crying out to God for help. No, actually, I was screaming out to God for help. All I could say was “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Rescue me, Jesus!”
Do you ever feel like you need to be rescued? Do you need God to wrap His holy, loving arms around you and hold you until you can finally stop crying? I do too. He will, dear one. Jesus will rescue you; He will never walk away from you, no matter who gives up on you or what you have said or done. In fact, Jesus goes out of His way to tell you in today’s parable (Matthew 18) that “he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray…” Have you ever thought about that? Jesus delights in you, dear lost sheep, more than He does any of the other “sheep” who may have it all together and who have never run away.
Sweet one, you might feel like you have made a hot mess out of your life, but please know that Jesus knows how to make it beautiful. He takes the ashes of your broken life, tills the soil of your heart, and plants a garden of the most fragrant blooms you have ever seen in your life.
That’s what Jesus does best: He takes what is broken and fixes it for us. Then, He delights in His precious daughter even more. We give Him our pain; He gives us Himself. Like a child who has recently finished a tantrum, we can exhale deeply in peace, knowing that no matter what is going on around us, the love of Jesus is steadfast and secure.
“Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God…” He will never give up on you. Come to Him today with your hands open. Give Him your troubles and anxiety, and rest in His care. Trust Him. Let go of everything that you are holding onto—all the things you think will make you happy. Believe me, He will take those dashed dreams of yours and give them back to you so much better than they ever were before. Give Jesus control of your life and your expectations. He is closer than your very breath. Let Him hold you. He will never let you go…ever.
Blessings and Love,
Deb
Questions to Ponder
- If you were completely honest, do you feel far away from God? Does it feel like He is nowhere to be found and you are all alone?
- Take a moment to pour out your heart to God. In your journal, write out a personal prayer just like David did in Psalm 13 when he felt far away from God. Write this beautiful portion of Scripture as well. Notice at the end what David says about God.
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me. (Psalm 13)
Did you see that? David finishes lamenting feeling forgotten by God with a true statement: “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.”
If there is one thing I have learned from struggling through dark and depressing times in my life, it’s that we need to ponder truth as much as possible. Satan wants us to believe the lies he is speaking into our thoughts. But meditating on the never-changing, always encouraging Word of God will change your heart and mind faster and more permanently than anything else.
Faith-Filled Ideas
One of the best ways to get out of the “pits” of this life is to commit encouraging Scriptures to memory. I would love to share two of my favorites with you. Record these verses on a voice recording app on your phone and write them in dry erase marker on your bathroom mirror until you know them, inside and out. Pray these powerful Scriptures over yourself and your family each day.
And 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)
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead… (Ephesians 1:17-20a)
I love these verses because they tell us that we need to pray to understand the love of God. We can’t even begin to understand the width, length, depth, and height of it without prayer. Without it, we also cannot understand the power of the Holy Spirit that lives inside of each of us as Christ-followers. After all, it is the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and it lives inside of you and me!
Oh, and by the way, here’s a link to a beautiful song about the reckless love of God:
I remember going into my daughter's room night after night and kneeling beside her bed and crying my heart out to God because I didn’t know how to be a Christian mom; I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. You know what? God is so faithful! He answered me and simply said, “Spend time with me, Deb.” And so I did. I began arising 15-30 minutes earlier each day so I could read my Bible and pray, and plan out my day with my family.
If there was one thing I would love to share with you is that God is personal and loves you as you are. You don’t have to be perfect to be loved by our amazing God! Come as you are! His loving presence can be practically known and experienced. He is not a God who is far away, He is near and easily found. He longs for you to come to Him!
Randy and I have been married for 33 years and we have two grown children, Christie, and Jack, and one answer to prayer son-in-law named Alex. And now I get to be a Gigi to my sweet little grandbabies, Aspen and Skylar, and Piper. Yay!
- Mothering with Deb: What to Do When Your Child Struggles with Their Faith - April 16, 2024
- Hearing God Episode Four: Hearing God For Your Kids - April 14, 2024
- Supernatural Mom Mothering Kit: Spiritual Inheritance in April - April 10, 2024
2 Comments on “The Reckless Love of God”
I rejoice that I know I am deeply loved by God. Today, I prayed that my children would also know this truth for themselves. I want them to know it, not because others have told them, but because deep down they believe that it is true.
Yes!! Amen Daphne!