Living Loved

Our perceptions or paradigms on life determine so much about how we live out our lives.

I would say that my life has been driven by pride in accomplishments and fear-if I'm not accomplishing then I won't get noticed or be significant.  So I guess that means that "getting noticed" is what has been driving me.

Here are some lies I've been telling myself for years....

I want to win and if I'm not the winner then I'm the loser.

I have fear that if I'm not winning then I'm no good.

If I don't do this or do that, then the outcome won't be good.

If I'm the best then nobody can take that away from me.

I have to provide for myself.

I have to grow myself, change myself.

I CANNOT depend on anybody.

If I want to be loved then I have to perform in such a way.

I second guess my decisions because if I make the wrong one then God won't be with me.

That's kinda a crazy way to live considering I'm a professed so called Christian, right?  We'll maybe I wasn't meant to get it until recently....

A very dear friend of mine named Laurie Hyrons gave me 2 books to read a few months back.  

One of those books is "He Loves Me" by Wayne Jacobsen.  In this book the author talks about God's love for us.  He talks about how living in God's love can change the way we do life on a daily basis.  The book made a whole lot of sense to me, this is what REALLY stood out:

"Our only choice is whether or not to live loved, trusting that his eye is on us and that he can work out in us everything he desires.  That is the challenge of life in God's kingdom.  He has done everything to demonstrate his irrefutable love, but he will not make us live there.  We can still live less loved, pursuing our own agenda with our own resources and in the process not only destroying ourselves but hurting others as well.  

The choice is yours, and it can't be made once for a lifetime.  The choice is made every day in every circumstance in which you find yourself.  Do you trust that he loves you even in this, or will you fall back on your own wisdom and desires?" (Emphasis added)

I'm still very much choosing to do things my way in many areas of life.  I'm still learning in each moment to remember that I'm loved by the king of all kings.  The One who created both man and woman.  The One who created me and all of my weaknesses and strengths.  

I want people to look at my life and know that I'm Living Loved by the King of all Kings because I'm not driven by fear.

I want people to look at my life and know I'm not driven by exposing other people's weaknesses against my strengths so I can be better.

I want people to look at my life and know I'm not driven to win because I need the significance.  

I want to be driven by being loved by God because there is no fear in God's perfect love.  So, I'm trying in each day and in each circumstance to live loved!

Most importantly, I want God to know that I know he loves me and I know that I can trust him no matter what because he can see that I'm living out- living loved!

And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep his love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.  Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.  Ephesians 3:18-19 (NLT)

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.  1 John 4:18a (NLT)

Living Loved,

Elizabeth