“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us …” 1 John 4:16 (NIV)
Have you ever depended on someone? You trusted them because they promised to be there for you… and then they didn’t come through. When that happens, we start asking questions like, “Do they even care about me?”
When I was younger, my parents separated. Whenever I visited my father, he would make promises, things he said he would do for me, but he never followed through. Still, every time, I believed that this time would be different.
One day he promised to buy me some clothes. I was so excited. I planned what I wanted, looking forward to it with complete confidence and no fear. But when we arrived, there was not even enough money to buy one item. I was crushed. From that day on, I stopped trusting my father. Our relationship became more about biology than love. For me, he was not a safe place anymore. I saw him as a promise breaker. I was afraid of getting my heart hurt again.
But here is the good news, friends. God is not like the people who have made promises to you and broken them. God keeps His promises. We can rely on His love. God is compelled by love. That is why He did not give up on humanity. Instead, He did the unthinkable. He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins. Why? Because He wanted to be close to us. He made a way for us to come into His presence and experience His peace, comfort and fulfillment.
1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love.” I feared trusting my father, and because of that fear, I struggled to love him. His actions made me believe he did not love me. But it is not like that with God. God loves us deeply. We do not have to be afraid to place our whole lives in His hands. He wants to restore what is broken in us so we can understand what reliable love really looks like, a love that keeps its covenant forever.
Remember this. God is reliable, and we can rely on His love for us.