It is easy to believe that God’s love increases when we are full of peace and decreases when we are overwhelmed by doubt. But grace doesn’t operate on a grading scale. If you are wrestling with frustration or uncertainty today, you haven’t lost your standing with God. You are deeply loved in the messy middle of your human experience, exactly as you are.
want to remind you that my love for you is not a reward for your good behavior.
– Jacqueline Whitney
New Voicemail from God — 2:14 AM
“I want to remind you that my love for you is not a reward for your good behavior.
You are lying awake right now because your mind is spinning with doubts, and questions, and frustration. You feel like you are letting me down because your faith doesn’t feel steady or certain today. You think that because you are struggling to see my hand, I must be pulling away from you.
My love for you is not conditional on your ability to keep it all together. I love you just as much in your frustration as I do in your faith. I am not threatened by your questions, and I am not overwhelmed by your doubt.
The seasons where you feel distant or angry are often the exact moments I am drawing closest to you. I am holding your hand through the dark, even when you are shaking your fist at the sky.
You don’t have to force a smile to keep me close. I am already right here.”
Jacqueline Whitney is the author Held: A 50 Day Devotional For Parents and All That You Deserve.
