My Security in God's Love

Each step of our journey together will put something more of God’s amazing truth into our understanding – or, to use the illustration that we began with – into our God-box. The more truth there is in our God-box, the better equipped we’ll be for living the life God has given us, and fulfilling our destiny in Him.

So far, we have established that our lives are precious to God and that what we do with them really matters – both to us and to Him. We know that God created the world for His people and He rejoices when we find our place in it and discover our destiny.

We are turning our attention now to the deep inner need we all have for security in the very core of our beings.

The World as it is

We’re living in a world which is increasingly insecure, especially at the personal level, and particularly for children.

Security and love are inextricably bound together. The traditional family, as God’s strategic plan for putting the security of love into the heart of every human being (Ephesians 3:14-15, Psalm 68:5-6, 127:3-5), is steadily being undermined by the collapse of morality in both society and government. As a result we are now growing generations of children who have no secure family anchor. They are having to fend for themselves, emotionally and physically, and learn how to be independent, far earlier than God ever intended.

The break-up of so many families, and the consequential absence of fathering, has removed much of the security that God desired children to enjoy within the safety and covering of a family. This is true for families all over the world.

Today, people are being forced to behave as if they’re ‘grown up’, long before they are ready to take on the responsibilities of adulthood. Sadly, the very word ‘adult’ no longer means a mature man or woman, but is a description of what level of pornographic material people are looking at! And, even as I write this, a new report has revealed that all the sexual awareness teaching, which was designed by ill-informed governments, at great expense, to reduce teenage pregnancies, has more than doubled the incidence of teenage pregnancies in the groups involved!

We have fallen a long way from God’s ideal. But this is the world as it is. Some of you may have been affected by these very issues. I am not drawing your attention to them just because I feel strongly about what is happening in the world, but because the Gospel has to be made relevant to real people in the real world as it is. God is intensely interested in today’s generations – from the young to the old, and everyone in between.

Real Answers for Real Problems

The issues of life leave behind a legacy in the heart. And unless we have answers that will satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart – which usually lie hidden beneath the external behaviour of those who are hurting – then the Gospel is not good news for all, but only for a chosen few.

People are hurting because of what has happened to them in the past – and perhaps, even you are one of them, and you are wondering what God can do for people with considerably less than perfect parenting? I want to assure you that there is no situation so bad that God cannot heal and no person so damaged that God isn’t concerned for them.

I passionately believe that the Gospel is good news for all – for you, for me and whomever God leads us to on this planet full of people – all of whom are loved by our Creator. I am praying you will want to share this good news with as many others as are open to receive it.

But if we are to share it with others – we must, first, be willing to receive it for ourselves and allow Him to so work it into our lives that, as Paul prayed and longed for, we will grow up into maturity in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 4:13).

Journey to Freedom is not just a training course to help you understand the truth of God’s Word in your head – but a dynamic experience of learning how to apply those wonderful truths, first in your own life and then, following in the steps of Jesus, as a servant to others.

What Happens When We No Longer Know the Security of Love?

Security is a fruit of love. Without love there can only be insecurity, and insecurity breeds fear. It’s no surprise, therefore, that the Scripture tells us ‘perfect love drives out fear’ (1 John 4:18), because, when we have really begun to understand the perfect and totally selfless love of God, we know we can also begin to trust Him and depend on Him in every area of life (Ephesians 3:16-19). There is then nothing to be afraid of. We are liberated from the bondage of our past into the freedom which is the inheritance of God’s children. (Romans 8:14-17)

Fear, however, promotes independence and the need to control one’s circumstances and environment. Independence makes people put up walls of self-defence. A need to control, limits life to those experiences we can be in charge of.

For many, the need for self-defence forces them to retreat into an artificial fantasy world, where they are in charge and where they find some comfort, but sadly it is only false comfort and does not last. It can be a world containing anything from movie-addiction to religion; from dependence on music or computer games to addiction to food, pornography or sex, and anything which can form a seemingly ‘secure’ distraction from the realities of life.

Immorality has become the norm for the growing generations, not because they particularly want to be immoral, but because they don’t know anything different. Parents and governments no longer have any moral boundaries of their own. When there is no longer any respect or holy fear of God, they no longer have a spiritual motive for disciplined love, which provides security through putting in firm and healthy boundaries for the next generation. (Proverbs 22:6, Ephesians 6:4)

The old saying is very true – the hand that rocks the cradle will one day change the world. But if the hands that are rocking the cradle no longer know God, have no respect for Him, and cannot understand how to really love their offspring, then the sands of time are running very fast through the hour-glass of destiny. This is our world!

So is There Any Hope?

This is a good question! For it would be so easy to look at all the bad things and decide to give up on wanting to make a difference in this world for the Kingdom of God. So let me give you an example of what can happen.

The eighteenth century was a very violent and rebellious era in England. But in spite of all the bad things one could point to, hope for the nation came in the form of a man with a message, John Wesley.

He was one of the greatest evangelists the United Kingdom has ever known. In the eighteenth century he changed the face of society through his determined preaching and Holy Spirit anointing. It turned the face of the nation away from violence and rebellion and laid the foundation for many of the good things that developed in the Victorian era of the nineteenth century.

His mother, the ‘hand’ that rocked his cradle, was a woman of extraordinary godliness and passion, praying with all her fourteen children individually, every day, and trusting that they would grow up to love and serve the Lord. They did!

John never forgot the influence of his mother on his life and there are countless millions in eternity who will one day give thanks to God for John Wesley’s mother! Even Hudson Taylor, the extraordinary founder of the China Inland Mission, will be one of them. He was a second generation fruit of Wesley’s life and preaching! His life was used by God to transform the lives of others. There is no-one beyond hope.

Over the past thirty-five years I have been privileged to see how God can transform the lives of even the most hurting of people. Many of whom never knew the love and security of loving parents – but came to know a loving God. God then sent His agents to minister salvation and healing into their lives. Some of those people who received help are now some of the most whole people I know! God has truly healed them through love and has given them back ‘the years which the locust has eaten’ (Joel 2:25) and equipped them with a heart of love for others.

I am only writing this because I want the whole Body of Christ to know these wonderful truths, be empowered by the Spirit of God to take this message to His Church and, through His Church, to the world, where they live. I want people to regain an understanding of the security that comes through love. I want them to understand that hope and healing flow from the cross to all who will come to Him.

There is hope! Will you join with me in being willing to let the God of Truth change you so that the Truth of God can change others?

The Security that is a Fruit of Love

Security is both a feeling and a factual reality. In children the feeling of security is an emotional response to being loved by those who are responsible for them. Their physical security is the actual protection that is put in place by those who have the responsibility to love and care for them.

Our eternal security as a child of God is guaranteed by the love of our Heavenly Father. John expressed it perfectly in one of the most well-known verses in the whole of the Bible (John 3:16) when he said, ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life’. The sacrifice of Jesus was the ultimate demonstration of love. It was also the ultimate guarantee of eternal security. What an amazing promise these words contain.

But if you are one of those people who, even today, is living in the aftermath of rejection, betrayal, abuse, disloyalty or other nasty experiences of childhood, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that, because your own upbringing was so hurtful, you will always be suffering as a result. That is a lie from the pit of hell. As we journey together you will see how the Lord can heal and restore you from whatever mess the enemy has made in your life and give you the security of His love. You will certainly find it helpful to read of God’s heart to heal in Isaiah 61 and Psalm 91.

Yes, we do live in a fallen world. Yes, Satan is the god of this world and yes, life can be tough as a result. But fear not, Jesus said, ‘I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33).

What truth! What promises! And what a Saviour!

The Onward Journey

Next we will be looking in greater depth at some of the vital foundations that must be in place in our lives in order for us to be strong in Him.

I am so looking forward to hearing some of what He is going to do in and through you in the years to come as a result of our travelling together on this exciting journey.

Summary

Security is a fruit of love. When we are loved we feel safe. When we truly know the heart of God and have experienced His love, then there is no limit to what God can do in and through our lives!

Prayer

Thank You, Lord, for Your great love. I want to know the security that comes from knowing You. Help me Lord to forgive those who were responsible for all insecurities in my own life. Help me to grow in the knowledge and understanding of Your Love, so that there will be no barrier to me fulfilling Your destiny for my life. In Jesus' name, Amen.