Why is it so hard to believe that God loves us.
Brendan Mc CrossanWhy is it so hard to believe that God lovesus?
Chapter one
Psalm 56-9-This one thing I know God is for me.
Psalm-59-10 my God is changeless in his love for me.
This word of God does not change, it is part of his nature to forgive and not condemn, loving unconditionally. We love conditionally that is why it is so hard for us to believe that we ourselves can be loved without any conditions. Satan uses our very love against us; because our love is conditional we have limits on it, God’s love has no limits. Our love condemns if someone does something wrong to us, we stop loving them. God on the other hand cannot stop loving them and us, it’s impossible for him to do so, it’s his very existence without it he could not be, it is what makes God up, and it is the driving force behind his every action, it’s his very being, his essence.
You are loved no matter what you have done, just ask for forgiveness and it’s yours, then get back on your feet and start again. There is no condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ Jesus. Do you belong to Christ Jesus? Then this word from God is for you.
Romans-8-1 there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
Chapter two
Why is it so hard for us to believe that our God loves us?
One answer is because we feel under condemnation all the time. Another reason is we have been brought up to believe in a God of wrath and judgment. A third reason is we have heard it preached to us daily in church that, “Lord I am not worthy to receive you.” Therefore we feel unworthy.
For me this and the previous reason were the reasons I feared the Lord more than loved him. How could I believe in a God of tremendous unconditional love if I was unworthy, if every day of my life I heard those words pounded into me day after day every time I went to mass. Those words had a profound effect on me spiritually, they went down deep into my subconscious mind and stayed there festering year after year and I believed those words even though I saw later on when I began reading my bible for myself that I was not unworthy, but righteous before God.
No amount of reading would shake off those words, “you are unworthy,” and unworthy to “me” meant dirty, filthy, sin filled, garbage, no good.
I was a child listening to men of God telling me that I, a little child, was disgusting, filthy, dirty, garbage, no good, when they said I was unworthy. After all these were supposed to be holy men, and knew God better than I ever would, these men had devoted their lives to serving God, and I was a little child who should listen to my elders and obey them.
Please note this: I do not blame the priests or nuns or religious people, or pastors, vicars, or teachers they just preached what they had been taught, and knew no different.
Think of this; you are a little child, you are learning about God and what you hear is frightening, that when you sin, your soul turns black as coal. This is terrifying to a child, you live in terrible fear that if you sin, your soul turns black and you’re thrown into hell with its terrible flames that never die and you suffer terrible torment. Irretrievable damage has been done to a child’s subconscious mind. This stuff goes down deep inside a little child wounding it, causing it to believe in a terrible judgmental God, and a fear of God takes root, and no matter what you begin to read in your bible years later this still has a profound effect on you preventing you from subconsciously believing the truth of the gospel. God is love, you hear the preacher say; inside you responds subconsciously, “rubbish he is angry at me because my soul is black from sin.”
You hear the preacher say God is love and loves you, and you say, “Amen” Praise the lord, but inside you there is disbelief. You can’t get rid of 10-20-30-40 years of, “you’re a sinner, unworthy; your soul is black,” in an instant, unless the lord heals that deep wound. That wound has been inflicted on you unintentionally, but it is still wounding you, and those who told you those things are terribly wounded also and need healing
I hear preachers telling their congregations that, “they are sinners,” some say, “sinners washed in the blood of the lamb.” Or “I am a sinner saved by grace. Praise God it is by grace alone that we are saved, but once saved we are no longer sinners, not according to the word of God.
These preachers are doing what the catholic priests and nuns and school teachers did they are telling their people that they are still under condemnation. The bible says a sinner is someone who hates God, is rebellious. If Jesus is your lord you are righteous. 1-Timothy-1-8-these laws are good, when used as God intended, but they were not made foruswhomGodhassaved;theyareforsinners,whohateGodandhaverebellioushearts.
And that little child within the adult, hears condemnation again and again, and can’t grow in the belief that God is love and that God loves them unconditionally. The spiritual damage done to a child of God is horrific; if these great spiritual directors would go and learn the word of God properly they would see that God does not condemn his own children for a start. He never refers to them as sinners, or unworthy but as Saints. He talks about his children being made like him and made like Jesus, having the nature of Jesus.
The broken child within is confused, it hears in one breath, “God loves you and Jesus died for you,” and then hears, “you’re unworthy, and you’re a sinner.”
You who read this cannot tell me that you don’t still feel as a little child about certain matters. You might be an adult sitting at a prayer meeting or church service and know people in the meeting or church, butyou stillsittherefeeling alonewith emptiness insideof you. No amount of preaching about how wonderful Jesus is, or how much God is in love with you, will make you feel less lonely.
Because inside you is this little child that wants to love God and be close to God but is prevented from doing so because they need healed, they need their image of God changed by the healing power of God himself. They need someone who understands, pray over them, and loose them from all the bondage's they have on their childhood image of God. Then they need filled with light, and then prayed with for God to fill them with himself. They sit in the church feeling empty knowing God presence is in the room but rarely feeling it or experiencing it for them selves. The little child within needs the tender touch of Jesus healing that deep wound that separates them from feeling the love of God for them.
We all need healing from this poor image of ourselves; we need the love of God to fill us in the little child within, because no matter how much you fill the adult you don’t reach the child within.
When you tell a child it’s no good it grows up believing its no good and acts accordingly. The child has been programmed it knows nothing else. Millions suffer in this way, wanting to feel the closeness of God but unable, they need healed of this darkness in their lives. Of course Satan and his evil spirits knows these things and spends years prompting you with condemnation every chance they get. They feed your negativity, making it grow and grow, until like weeds in a garden they infest your mind with condemnation, and you just get worse and worse, and believing in a loving God is almost impossible to believe.
Does your heavenly Father desire to heal you and set your free? Of course he does, and if he desires to set your free from childhood beliefs, you should expect him to do so. I challenge church leaders who may read this, have a healing service and just bring people before the Lord and ask Jesus to walk back through the years until they first heard about God. Ask Jesus to talk to the little child within telling them they have been taught wrong, and now he wants to undo all the wrong teaching about his Father. Ask Jesus to lead them into the light and show them that their father does love them deeply. Use a meditation if necessary, to help them visualize; like this one.
Meditation;
See Jesus sitting inside of you, see him looking into your eyes, see the colour of his eyes, see him reaching out his hand, and see your self responding to Jesus; catch his hand and now let him show you his father, you’re safe with Jesus, and have no need to be afraid of the Father. Hear Jesus say to you; “this is my Father and your Father, Our Father does not condemn you, and does not criticize you.” “He wants to undo all the wrong things you have been taught about him, he wants to set you free and give you great joy in his presence.”
As you sit there with Jesus you begin to feel strangely warm, there is warmth beginning to flow all over you, as this warmth spreads you feel a beautiful peace coming over you, for the first time ever you feel content to be in God’s company.
Jesus speaks to his Father and says; “Father remove from this child every condemnation that has been placed upon them from people who didn’t know you and your great love for them.”
“Remove every wrong teaching now this instant, and replace it with confidence in you as I have confidence in you.” “Let this child of yours experience for themselves now, your love and joy you feel for them.”
“Let them feel with their feelings your love, and as they feel your love let them be filled with light and tenderness as they experience you for the first time.”
“Father Break over them wrongful words spoken over them by a parent, teacher, pastor or religious church leader, in my name Jesus that name you gave me from before time immemorial.” “Set them free from wrongful thoughts and patterns of thinking as a child thinks; Give them the freedom to love you as I love you.” “And do it now Father, in my name Jesus.” See the Father smiling at you beaming with joy in seeing you set free. Feel Jesus squeeze your hand tightly and say, “it’s time for us to go now but remember we are with you always even till the end of time.”
Tell everyone to relax and stay in that presence of God within them for a little while longer until you the one who leads them in this meditation sense its over, and bring them back to where they are with a quiet song, a son like; “Father I believe.” Or sing some suitable song about the Father Son and spirit.
During the meditation if there is someone in the music ministry who is sensitive, get them to hum a gentle worship song or have the musicians playing softly an appropriate song.
Then you could ask them to share their experience, how they felt during the meditation.
A simple meditation brings permanent healing, with God and Jesus and the Spirit, everything is simple and easy, we complicate things with big ideas from ourselves, not spirit inspired. As with any meditation let your meditation be spirit led and change things as the spirit leads, you do not have to stick to a particular program, or words, if the spirit leads he will more than likely change the way things are going and lead people into a deeper personal healing, you have the honour of following the Holy Spirits leading. The purpose of a meditation is to lead people closer to a relationship with the Father and Jesus and the Holy Spirit. You have the gist of the idea about meditation and you should follow the Holy Spirit as closely as you are able, changing things as he leads, not sticking rigidly to the way things are laid out.
When people are healed of their wrong image of God the Father then they are wide open to the gifts and powers of the Holy Spirit, many doors have been opened for them, and you have helped heal the body of Christ.
God is good and so we give praise to his name from a heart filled with love for him.
Amen