“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
—Romans 8:28
THE APOSTLE PAUL wrote that “all things work together for good to those who love God.” What does it mean to love God? Love for God is an abiding condition of the heart created by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). So, firstly, love for God is something that God must work in us. We read in 1 John 4:19 that “we love God because He first loved us.” True love for God is not because of all the things that He gives, but true love is desire and affection for Him and Who He is. It is adoration for God as God. We see this love expressed in Psalm 63:1, “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.” You see, love for God is esteem, reverence, adoration, fear, and worship of God for who He is –the righteous, holy, sovereign God of the universe who has mercy on whom He has mercy and hardens whom He hardens (Romans 9:15).
TO LOVE GOD is to love Him for who He is and not simply for what He gives. Those who love God say with Job, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him,” and they agree completely with the words of Habakkuk 3:17-18, “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls; yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
WHAT ABOUT YOU? Do you love God in the depths of your soul for who He is or only for what He gives? There are many people in churches across the land who profess they are Christians, but as soon as God sends trials upon them, they turn their back on God. You see, these hypocrites want the blessings, but not God, the Blesser who gives all the blessings. To love God is to desire, serve, treasure, adore, and delight in Him. To love God is an abiding satisfaction with Him. So, do you love God of Scripture?
Tuesday Encouragement: February 10, 2026
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
