He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

Friends have told me they sometimes fear that God has stopped loving them because they keep trying but keep sinning. They have an unhealthy fear of Him.

Fear is not always a bad thing. We are told in scripture to, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” Philippians 2:12

I used to think the fear of the Lord was an Old Testament thing. My reasoning was that now, because of the cross I no longer have to fear God. Perfect love casts out fear, right? No, I was wrong. My problem was I didn’t know what it really meant to fear God.

“To fear the Lord is to hate evil.” Proverbs 8:13

“You who love the Lord, hate evil.” Psalms‬ ‭97‬:‭10‬

The fear of the Lord is to love what He loves and hate what He hates.

To fear God is not to be scared of Him. You won’t approach someone who scares you. God desires intimacy, not distance. The true fear of the Lord is the fear of doing something that would harm your intimacy with Him.

“Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies.”Psalms‬ ‭24‬:‭3‬-‭4‬

Like the children of Israel, we often refuse to climb the mountain to encounter God out of an unhealthy fear. When we are sinning we don’t want to be exposed to the light of God’s presence. Shame holds us back from going higher and we miss out on intimacy with Him.

Only by grace can we enter God’s presence, and He only gives grace to the humble.‭

True humility is acknowledging the evil in our hearts, not hiding it. I recognize I need God to “create in me a clean heart” because “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8. That doesn’t just mean we will see God in the future, but purity of heart allows us to see Him more clearly now.

This purifying process of the heart starts with hating the evil inside us. I recognize I am a slave to sin “for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” Romans‬ ‭7‬:‭15‬,24

As we confess our sins to God and one another, Jesus’ blood goes to work, cleansing us of all that displeases God. Now we can boldly and without shame walk that narrow path that leads to holiness and intimacy with God.

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

Christ suffered the most hideous death to bring us into His presence. He wants us so close to Him. That’s love!

So if you find yourself playing the flower petal game “He loves me. He loves me not,” fix your mind on this:

“He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:5

“If we are unfaithful, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny who He is.” 2 Timothy 2:13

“If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭66‬:‭18‬-‭20‬