How do I love God?

We can struggle with wondering if God truly loves us. Do I have to do anything to deserve His love? If I sin, does God love me still? In what way can I show my love to Him?

In this video Susi shares how she experiences God’s love in daily life.

Click to watch Part 2 of this series on God’s love for us and how to love God in return.

Audio transcript

Susi: God loves me, God loves us, unconditionally. He’s interested in me, He understands me, He knows all about my weaknesses, and He knows about my strengths, and He put me together the way that I am, and He wants it to succeed for me. We think of God as a Father, and it can sometimes be easy to think that He is a punishing type of father, or one who’s after us. But He is for us; He is for me. He understands very well where I struggle, but He can see it going better for me, and He is there to help it go better for me.

Does God love me? How do I know?

God shows His love for me in His word in many ways. I have to believe it. I have to believe it. But He takes care of me. And He reminds me of His word when I need it. There are so many things that we meet in life that we can’t predict. So many things that are changing, so many things that are hard. But His word never changes. And when I hold on to it, I see how much He loves me. I see – there is a way through, at all times! And there’s always a word to help me. So, God loves me so much, and He gives me His word. I have to be willing to listen. But I know that He loves me. And He also gives me such a peace.

When I’ve done something I know I shouldn’t, and I can ask for forgiveness, and I need that forgiveness, and I know He gives it to me, and then that sin is blotted out, it is such a proof of His love, that I sit there with this peace, and I can go to bed at night, and I know, that’s all gone. I have a new slate. It’s been blotted out. And He loves me so much, that that’s possible. He made it possible by sending Jesus who lived and made a way for me. And He gave the best He had, in His Son, to make that possible. But I experience it, practically, in my little situation, or big situation, when I realize He is for me, no matter what I’ve done. There isn’t anything that I need to do to deserve God’s love. I don’t earn God’s love. So, to carry around a burden of guilt when I’ve asked for forgiveness is not believing in what God’s word says. He has forgotten it; I must also move on, full of eagerness to do His will next time.

I can struggle with feeling, “Does God really love me?” I can struggle with how badly I’ve done things, and it can weigh really heavy on me. And there was one time I remember, driving in my car, and I felt so poorly about myself, and I just said, “God, help me to see myself how You see me.” And I was given such a conviction that God made me! And He knows me! And He sees me as that woman that He created, and He has such good plans for her. And it was such a relief for me. And I realized that all that heaviness were my own thoughts; those weren’t God’s thoughts for me. And it was tremendous help for me to realize how He sees me.

How to love God

When I understand how much God loves me, how much He’s interested in me personally and how much He’s done for me, personally, it changes the way I think. It changes the way I want to live. It changes my choices and my priorities. And it’s a very practical thing. It becomes a part of how I live. I’m interested in pleasing Him.

So, the way I talk to other people, the way I spend my money, the way I spend my time, has to be in alignment with the fact that I love God back. And I have His word. And it says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” I have to do His word. And of course, I find things. “Oh, I didn’t realize that.” Or, “I wasn’t prepared enough.” Because I have this nature, so I don’t do everything perfectly. But my intention is always to keep His commandments. And when I see things I could do better, I’m eager to be more prepared next time.

It means that I love the people around me. Those are the ones that I can affect. God is in heaven, but there’s plenty of people around me, and I can be very active in blessing them, and loving them. So, loving God back is something that is part of my everyday life. It is the way that I live, and it becomes more and more part of my thoughts.

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.” John 14:15.

God’s commandments are, in the truest form, an expression of His love for me. They are the way for me to live the happiest life possible. His commandments are not burdensome, it says, and it’s extremely true.

I don’t keep His commandments as a duty, or to prove that I love God. I keep His commandments, because I understand that is the very best possible thing I can do, and in that way, I am faithful to He who loves me.

Especially as a young person, sometimes I can feel that God’s commandments cause there to be, “You can’t do this, and you can’t do this.” But the truth is, that the very happiest possible life is to live within the protection of those commandments, because God’s wisdom is so much greater than mine, that when I obey those commandments, I’m protected from all the reaping of sin, and really, truly, can experience God’s love in the best possible way.