Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

The Security of Adoption

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Sometimes I try to prove that I’m a cool mom by sending memes to my kids. (Anyone else try this?) I recently sent one to my 18-year-old son, who is in his first semester of college. It says that our 7-year-old selves couldn’t wait to be an adult, and then pictures a cat doing all the mundane tasks of adulthood: driving, drinking coffee, brushing its teeth, washing dishes, and so on. It’s true that sometimes adulthood seems overrated. 

This month we’re spending three weeks looking at 1 John 3:1. Last week we heard John’s call to stop and pay attention to this saving love that the Father has lavished on us in Christ. Today we keep reading and see that this love causes us to be called children of God. Being God’s child doesn’t provide an escape from the stress of adulthood, but it promises security in the midst of life’s challenges. 

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” (1 John 3:1)

Because of the lavish love of the Father, He united us to His Son, Jesus Christ, and made us His children. The Westminster Shorter Catechism defines adoption as “an act of God’s free grace, whereby we are received into the number, and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God.” That’s amazing news! God brings us into His family and treats us as His children — all by of His grace. 

If our adoption is an act of God’s free grace, we can’t earn it, and we can’t lose it. He doesn’t love us as His daughters and sons because we’re lovable, because we’re good children, or because we bring something valuable to the relationship. Adoption is one-sided—a Father welcoming a child and giving the child all the rights and privileges that come with being part of the family. This is the blessing of God’s free grace as He makes us His children because of His love. 

No matter what you face this week, you are secure as an adopted child of God. 

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God’s Lavish Love

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We have the same conversation almost every night at bedtime. I tell my daughter I love her. She says, “I love you more.” And I reply, “That’s not possible. I love you most, and I loved you first.” 

I win the Who-Loves-Whom-The-Most battle because I loved my daughter before she even had an awareness that I existed. I know her 13-year-old mind can’t begin to fathom the depth of my love for her. It reminds me of God’s love—a love so deep, so wide, so infinite, so indescribable, beyond the comprehension of His children. 

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” (1 John 3:1)

This month we’re going to spend three weeks looking at this verse – today we’ll focus on the first phrase. If you look at other Bible translations, this phrase is translated, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us” or  “lavished on us.” 

In R.C. Sproul’s book Saved From What?, he wrote that John started with this word “see” or “behold” as a way of getting his readers’ attention. John wanted them to stop and pay attention to what he was writing here, because this is a big deal. This is a big love. This love is different from any other love we’ve experienced. 

What is the manner of this love that God has lavished on us? Later in his letter, John wrote this: 

“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)

Propitiation refers to Christ’s turning away God’s wrath from us by taking it on Himself. This is the kind of love God has for us – the kind that compelled Him to send His Son to die in our place and take the punishment our sin deserved. 

No matter what you face this week, stop and behold the amazing love God has lavished on you. 

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Our Safe Refuge

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Have you ever watched a movie and realized that a character you thought was a good guy was really the most terrible of the bad guys? It’s even worse when the other characters don’t know the truth. You feel a pit in your stomach as you see one of your favorite characters run to someone she thinks is safe, only to find out she’s turned to the wrong person for help. You hope she figures out who’s truly on her side before it’s too late! 

For the past month, we’ve walked through Psalm 34 together. We’ve seen how David praises the Lord in all circumstances and how the Lord delivers and provides. 

In the final verses of the psalm, we find the foundation of all the truth, thanksgiving, and praise of Psalm 34: None who take refuge in God will be condemned. When we run to Him for salvation, we won’t find out later that we’ve made a mistake. We’re safe in the grace and mercy of our Savior. 

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.” (Psalm 34:19-22) 

These verses point us to Christ, the One who delivers us from death by His death. Our afflictions are many, but they are nothing compared to the affliction Jesus suffered on the cross as He bore the punishment our sin deserved. 

Because He took God’s wrath for us, our Lord and Redeemer is now our safe refuge. As Romans 8:1 declares, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” When you feel weighed down by affliction and fear, take refuge in the One who died to redeem your life. He is our Deliverer, our Redeemer, and our Protector. 

No matter what you face this week, those who run to God find safe refuge in Him. 

P.S. It’s time for summer break! I’ll be taking a break from posting Monday devotionals for a few months. Lord willing, I’ll be back in the fall!

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God’s Sovereign Care

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It was 4:15a.m., and I was having a pity party. 

It doesn’t happen often (if it did, this devotional would include an advertisement for a free dog), but occasionally our dog decides he needs to go potty around 4 a.m. When Samson started pacing around our room and then scratching at the door, I was forced to abandon my hours of uninterrupted sleep and let him out. 

I fumed as I got back in bed. I wasn’t just angry at Samson—I was mad at God. “Don’t you know how tired I am, God? Don’t you know I needed sleep tonight?” 

But then God’s Word flooded my mind, and I remembered that God is sovereign over all the details of my life—even dog’s bladders. He doesn’t withhold anything I need, and all that He allows is for my good. My anger subsided, and I eventually drifted off to sleep for a few more hours. 

It’s one thing to find comfort in God’s sovereignty in the minor annoyances of life like a dog needing to potty in the middle of the night. But what about in the major hardships? Even in a cancer diagnosis, looming layoffs at work, or a difficult relationship, God’s sovereign care is an anchor we can cling to. 

We’ve been walking through Psalm 34 for the past couple of weeks. (You can read the previous posts here and here.) In today’s verses, David proclaims the perfect provision of the Lord: 

“Oh fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.” (Psalm 34:9-10)

David made a bold statement here – that those who fear God lack nothing. There is nothing that is good for us that our heavenly Father withholds. 

In His wisdom, God knows what we need. In His goodness, He desires to care for our needs. In His sovereignty, He is fully able to give us all that we need. We can trust Him to be the God on the throne who sees and knows and cares for each of His children. Those who are His lack no good thing. 

No matter what you face this week, you can rest in God’s sovereign care. 

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