The Perfect Love Story for Valentine's Day
On a day where it feels like the whole world is celebrating love, you might think there is no one who cares for you or loves you. But God is the One who cares about you and loves you beyond measure! Feeling rejected by friends and family, I spent an entire summer convincing myself I was unloved. After several weeks of focusing on all the ways other people were not meeting my needs, I grew tired of the pity-parties and decided to surrender my feelings to the Lord and seek His Word concerning my problem. Were my feelings legitimate? Yes. Were they justified? Probably not. The more time I spent in God's Word, the more I read scripture after scripture assuring me of God’s love and presence. Many verses captured the attention of my heart during this time of genuine questioning, but Genesis 16 is the story that touched me the most and continues to comfort me to this day. The story of Hagar is a beautiful account of our Mighty God searching for a barefooted, pregnant, runaway, slave girl. He is the Father who looks for his lost daughter in order to extend tender, loving care to a desperate, confused girl. God reached down from on high to comfort Hagar during her lowest point. He filled her with words of hope and validated her existence. His words assured her that her life mattered to Him, as does ours. God cares for the plight of the runaway, vulnerable, and unloved. The more time I spent poring over this story, the more assurance I received that this was the love I was looking for. The back story: God had promised Abraham and his wife, Sarai, they would have a son in their old age. Impatient for God’s plan to unfold, Abraham conceived a child with their slave, Hagar. Because of the pregnancy, there was tension in the home. Sarai mistreated Hagar who chose to run away. Obviously, in those days, a slave girl would have nowhere to run, but she left anyway. Along the road, near a spring in the desert, Hagar had an encounter with God. An encounter that proved her value, her importance, and her significance to God. God informed her about her future, and that of the child she carried and instructed her to return home. In Genesis 16:13 (NIV) Hagar proclaims, “You are the God who sees me,” and “I have now seen the One who sees me.” This declaration jumped off the page of my Bible and like cupid’s arrow, went straight to my heart. At that moment, I was convinced this verse was specifically for me. I still believe it. The words “you are the God who sees me” remain on the tip of my tongue, the forefront of my mind, and course through my body with every beat of my heart. Do you feel it too? The love the Father has for you?
This is the love message we all need to receive on Valentine’s Day: He is the God who sees us! In the midst of the hard days when we feel unloved, alone, or invisible, these words are a reminder to the contrary. He is the God who sees me and you. He is the God who searches for us (v. 7) and meets us where we are, gives us what we need, and blesses us. Reading about the encounter Hagar had with God convinced me my search for love was over. I found what I was looking for. When I realized I was loved and seen, just like Hagar, then I knew God would supply my need for whatever was happening at the time. Along with this story, I spent the summer repeating the words of this beautiful hymn:
The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can tell
It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell:
The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win: His erring child He reconciled and pardoned from his sin.
{O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong!
It shall forever more endure the saints’ and angels’ song.}
When years of time shall pass away and earthly thrones and kingdoms fall
When men, who here refuse to pray, on rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure shall still endure, all measureless and strong:
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race-the saints’ and angels’ song.
{O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong!
It shall forever more endure the saints’ and angels’ song.}
Could we ink the ocean fill and were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry,
Nor could the scroll contain the whole tho stretched from sky to sky.
{O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong!
It shall forever more endure the saints' and angels' song}
(text and music: Frederick M. Lehman)
I know, without a doubt, God used His Word and the words of this song to convey to me that His love-incomparable, unconditional, everlasting- was the love I was searching for. My Valentine’s Day wish for you: May His love grab hold of your heart and convince you that He sees you where you are and loves you with His everlasting love. You are not alone in your pain and suffering. His love is measureless and strong and would drain the ocean dry! Waiting with you!