Letting God's Love Reach Every Part of You

Alison Cook (0:01)

Hey, everyone, I'm Dr. Alison. Today's scripture offers us a wiser way of being human as we step into the day.

I've been studying the Book of Ephesians this past month, and it holds a prayer that I think is one of the most beautiful prayers in all of scripture. As I read it today, imagine this as a prayer being prayed over you as you listen. Today's scripture is Ephesians 3,14–21.

For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches, He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the Lord's holy people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen. I've always loved Paul's focus here on our inner being, that he may strengthen you with the power through a spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. This isn't a prayer for outer glory or outer riches or outer security. It's a prayer for inner strength, for an inner experience of love, for Christ to dwell in the deepest places of who you are. Paul goes on to describe it as being rooted and established in love. I love that image of being rooted, because roots aren't the part of a tree that anybody sees. They're hidden beneath the surface, and yet they're the thing that holds the tree steady. They're what allow it to take in nourishment. They're what help a tree withstand the wind and the storms that inevitably come, and I think something similar happens inside of us when we're rooted in our inner being. So much of our attention can go toward tending to the outer parts of our lives, to what we're accomplishing, to our work, to how other people perceive us, to whether the people we love are doing okay, whether our circumstances feel secure, and all of that is important. But underneath all of that, the thing that is supporting us through all of that is our inner being, our inner world. We talk about how our inner world is made up of thoughts, of feelings, of fears, of desires, of wounds, of hopes, of all these different parts of us that we're learning to notice and recognize and return to loving presence. And sometimes these inner places don't feel very rooted in love. A part of you may be fearful or anxious. A part of you may feel like you need that other person to love you in order to be safe. A part of you may believe you have to keep everybody happy in order to stay connected. A part of you may be carrying an old message that says you're too much or not enough, or that you're somehow unworthy of love. But I think this prayer gives us such a beautiful picture of what God desires for each of these places inside of us. That the frightened places inside of you would encounter love. That the striving places inside of you would encounter love. That the angry or resentful or hurting places inside of you would encounter love. That all parts of you would know in increasing measure that you are loved, even as you are right here. I also love that Paul prays that we would know this love that surpasses knowledge. And I think that's just such a beautiful statement that dovetails with what modern psychology is teaching us. Many of us know in our heads that God loves us. We've heard it our whole lives. We could explain it theologically. We could quote the Bible verses. But this is not the same thing as knowing God's love in our bodies and the depths of our being. It's not the same thing as encountering God's love in the places you've been most afraid to let God in or carrying God's love in your bones. And that kind of felt experience of love usually doesn't come through more information, through more memorization, through more head knowledge. It comes through experience as we teach ourselves how to receive love again and again. As the fearful part of us discovers love and slowly begins to realize, I don't have to hide anymore. As the striving parts of us discover they don't have to perform or work quite so hard, as the shadowy parts of us realize that it's safe to come out and be seen. All of this helps us become rooted and established in love. And this is truly my prayer for you and for me as we engage these daily devotions that we would know on a felt level how deep and wide and vast the love of Christ is for each part of us. Because I believe this doesn't only change us, this changes our relationships. As we come to know God's deep and abiding love for every single part of us, we become people who bring more of that love into the places we inhabit. We participate in bringing the kingdom of God more fully into this world. What part of you is most in need of an encounter with God's love today?