The Bedrock of God’s Love
Leaping into the downpour of God's love — not with caution, but with abandon.
Devotional Credit: Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (Modern Classic Edition)
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Oswald Chambers urges us today to reflect deeply on what we mean when we speak of love. Too often, our notions are sentimental or selective. But true love—the kind that God both gives and requires—is not rooted in emotional preference. It is grounded in the unchanging nature of God Himself. When God calls us to love, it’s not a call to summon up warm feelings toward others; it is a call to participate in His own divine nature.
This love is not easy, nor is it theoretical. God reveals its depths not in ideal conditions but through challenging people and circumstances. He puts us face to face with those we might never choose, and He says: Love them as I have loved you. That command is not issued from afar but from within, because His love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
Still, this divine love does not remain static. Chambers reminds us that love, though spontaneous in its origin, must be actively maintained. Irritation, bitterness, or withholding affection shows that we’ve stepped out of grace’s flow. But when we fix our gaze on how God has loved us—to the uttermost, without hesitation or condition—we leap into the lives of others with that same self-abandoning love.
Journal Entry — Voice of the Holy Spirit
I have poured My love into your heart not to remain dormant but to overflow. You were not chosen because you were lovely—you were made lovely by My choosing. My love for you is not measured by your behavior or worth; it is anchored in who I am. I am love, and I have made My home in you.
I know the ones you find difficult. I know the tension you sense around certain people. Yet I have placed them in your path—not to burden you, but to let My life rise in you. Just as I bore your burdens when you resisted Me, so I now invite you to bear with others. You are not being asked to conjure up affection; you are being invited to participate in My divine nature.
Let your love leap—not tiptoe. Leap from the secure rock of My love for you. Let irritation be the gentle reminder that you are trying to love in your own strength. Return to Me in that moment, and I will flood your heart again. My sweetness is not intermittent; it flows continuously when you remain in Me.
So remain. Abide. Draw from the deep well of My heart. Love from that place, and you will find the exhaustion gone and the joy restored.
Scriptures woven in: 2 Peter 1:5, 7; Luke 14:26; Romans 5:5; 1 John 4:7–8; 2 Corinthians 5:14–15
Real-Life Analogy
It’s like stepping into a shower after a long day in the dirt. At first, the water feels shocking against your skin, but soon it begins to wash away what you could never clean off yourself. The warmth penetrates. The grime flows down the drain. You step out not just rinsed—but renewed. That’s what Christ’s love does every time you return to its flow. And then, refreshed, you walk out and embrace the world—not with your effort, but with His life.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that Your love is not a concept but a living reality within me. You have not asked me to manufacture love, but to abide in Yours. I trust You to express Your patience, affection, and kindness through me, even toward those I would not choose on my own. Because I have been loved without limit, I rest in Your ability to love through me without condition. I rejoice that love is not my task—it is Your life in me.