love Archives - Marissa Henley

More Than Conquerors {No Matter What Monday}

October 1, 2018 by Marissa Leave a Comment

I hate to lose. Whether it’s Candyland with a preschooler or the biggest college football game of the season, I want to feel the thrill of victory. (Although I’ll admit, I’ve stacked the deck to let a 4-year-old win Candyland before just out of desperation for the game to end. Anyone else??)

Even as a child, I struggled with losing. My parents taught me to say to the winner, “Congratulations. Maybe I’ll win next time.” The sentiment is not heart-felt, and I often spit out those words through pouting lips with a touch of resentment. Maybe that’s why, even at the age of 41, I haven’t deviated from the script. I still mutter these words when my kids beat me at Uno.

We’ve been looking at the end of Romans 8 the last few weeks and learning that God is for us, God provides for us, and God’s verdict is sure. Today we see that God has made us conquerors through Jesus Christ:

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

I’ll be honest, most days I don’t feel like a conqueror. I feel defeated, discouraged, and distracted. I’m barely hanging on sometimes. But even when my feelings don’t match up, God’s Word says this is true: God has given me the victory in Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:57).

The victory doesn’t depend on me—Christ secured it when He rose from the grave. Now anything that threatens me has been defeated by my Savior. Even death has been swallowed up in victory and lost its sting (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). We still have trouble, but Jesus Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33).

And because of Christ’s love, we are included in His victory as if we are the conquerors. We can say with Paul, “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Christ’s victory over all, given to you because of His love for you, gives us courage when we think we can’t go on. Your circumstances may seem uncertain, daunting, or even impossible, but God has made you a conqueror. He knows how He will bring you through the battle to victory.

No matter what you face this week, Christ’s love makes you a conqueror.

He Sings Over You. {No Matter What Monday}

April 30, 2018 by Marissa Leave a Comment

Last year I spent a few days in Michigan with my brother, sister-in-law, and newborn nephew. It had been years since I rocked a baby in the middle of the night, but all the memories came rushing back . . . A baby cradled in my arms, the soft glow of a nightlight, and quiet singing to help lull him back to sleep.

As I sang over the cherished, peaceful baby in my arms, I was reminded that this is how God loves His children. Did you know that the King of the universe sings over you?

“The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save;

he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

God’s singing over us shows His love and care for us. We don’t sing over acquaintances or even our friends. Just think how awkward it would be to ask a stranger if you could hold her and sing over her!

We sing over those we are closest to – the children we hold in our arms, whose every need we would give our lives to meet, whose presence with us brings great joy.

Your heavenly Father holds you and sings, because the Son gave His life to meet your greatest need and bring you into a relationship with the Father. Two verses earlier in Zephaniah 3:15, we read that the Lord swept away the judgments against us and now dwells with us. This restored relationship bring us joy, and it causes God to rejoice as well (see also Psalm 149:4, Isaiah 62:5, Isaiah 65:19).

The singing of your heavenly Father isn’t quiet singing meant to put you to sleep. It is the loud singing of One who rejoices in bringing His children home. He gladly rejoices over you, quiets your fears with His love, and celebrates your salvation with singing.

No matter what you face this week, your heavenly Father sings His love over you.

The Creator Cares for You {No Matter What Monday}

November 13, 2017 by Marissa Leave a Comment

Have you ever been stuck in traffic in a big city? When I’m sitting in several lanes of gridlock, watching several more lanes of gridlock on the other side, I’m struck by how many people there are in the world. Who are all these people, and why are they trying to get somewhere at the same time I am?! If there are this many people in one spot of highway in one city, what must that mean about how many people are on this globe?

It makes me feel so small—I’m one of 7 billion people on earth. And this planet is just one tiny speck in all of God’s creation. According to Space.com, the Milky Way alone contains over 200 billion stars—and we are one of the smaller galaxies!

Simply put, the size of God’s creation is beyond comprehension. I’m one of 7 billion on one of several planets circling one of 200 billion stars in one of only-God-knows-how-many galaxies in the universe.

And yet, God cares for me.

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:3-4)

Your Heavenly Father placed each one of those stars not just in the Milky Way, but in the entire universe. He knows each one and sustains them by His power.

He not only knows every star, He also knows you. He knows your schedule, your to-do list, your worries, your struggles, your tears. He knows your past, your present, and your future. He cares for you and will never let you go.

No matter what you face this week, the One who placed all the stars in the heavens cares for you.

Everlasting Love {No Matter What Monday}

April 24, 2017 by Marissa Leave a Comment

A few years ago, I watched my wedding video with my daughter. She loved seeing my dress and veil, and she was riveted by all the pre-ceremony footage of my bridesmaids and mom bustling around me, helping me with my makeup and carrying my dress’s train. At one point, she turned to me and asked, “Is Daddy going to be in this video?”

God’s Word tells us that the human institution of marriage points to something greater—the love Jesus Christ has for His bride, the church. But often, our view of Christ’s love for us is marred by our experience with marriage: the sting of unfulfilled longings in singleness, the pain of broken promises in divorce, the end of marriage in death, or the unmet expectations in intact marriages.

God’s love is not like human love. I want my young, romantically-inclined daughter to understand that there is One who has loved her perfectly and will never stop. In Jeremiah 31:3b, the Lord says:

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”

Yes, my daughter’s daddy eventually made an appearance in our wedding video. But more importantly, her Heavenly Father is present with her, even in her most unlovable moments, pouring out His never-ending love and continuing faithfulness.

There is a love that lasts forever. The good news of the gospel is that there’s nothing you can do to earn this love and nothing you can do to lose it. Christ gave His life to make you His bride. His love is freely and faithfully given to you.

No matter what you face this week, God loves you with an everlasting love.