Joyce Meyer Devotional 2 October 2021 The Spirit of Love : We cannot give away what we don’t have. Trying to love others is useless if we have never received God’s love for ourselves. We should love ourselves in a balanced way, not a selfish, self-centered way. I teach that we should love ourselves, not be in love with ourselves.
To love yourself, you simply need to believe in the love God has for you; know that it is everlasting, unchangeable, and unconditional. Let His love affirm you and make you feel secure, but don’t begin to think of yourself more highly than you should (see Romans 12:3). Loving ourselves does not mean we love all our behavior; it means that we love and accept the unique person God has created us to be. I believe loving ourselves in a balanced way is what prepares us to let love flow through us to others. Without receiving God’s love for ourselves in a healthy, appropriate way, we may have feelings of affection or respect for others, a humanistic type of love; but we certainly cannot love people unconditionally unless God Himself inspires and provokes that love.
The Holy Spirit purifies our hearts so we can allow the sincere love of God to flow through us (see I Peter 1:22). His aim is to get us to the point where God’s pure love can flow from us to others. This is part of being filled with the Spirit.
When we think of what we can do for ourselves or how we can get others to bless us, we are “all about me.” God wants us to resist this kind of selfishness and self-centeredness and to express love to others. When we think of others and how we can bless them, we keep ourselves filled with the Holy Spirit, Who is the Spirit of Love.
Prayer Starter: Father God, thank You for providing me with all the answers to all my questions through Your Holy Bible and spending time with You. Help me to always recognize Your voice and follow Your leadership! In Jesus’ name, amen.
Credit: JoyceMeyer.org