INDIVIDUALLY

Did you know God loves us individually and not all the same? Well, it has taken me years to understand how this works and what it means.

Looking at this from a natural point of view, one might see this as God showing favoritism. It has the potential to reinforce our belief, “God loves her more than me,” attitude. I must be honest; I’ve struggled for many years with thoughts of how God couldn’t possibly love me as much as He did others.

I would like to share just how bad it was.

In the late 90’s I started watching Joyce Meyer’s on television and reading her books. I was in love with her. She had been delivered from a place of rape and abuse and God was using her mightily (and still does), to help women of abuse come out of the shame and horror that goes along with it. But soon after I started watching, her brother accepted Christ and she brought him into her ministry. He had a history of drug and alcohol abuse. She really lavished him with love and helped him tremendously. But instead of being happy and seeing how God can work in someone’s life, I was so jealous of her love for her brother—I stopped watching her show. I didn’t stop reading her books, but I didn’t want to hear anymore about him and all that was being done for him.

At the time, my life was very difficult financially, emotionally and spiritually. I was still a very broken woman going on 50 with a young child. It felt like God cared so much for this man, who really didn’t have to do much of anything other than be the long lost brother of Joyce Meyer.

Why wasn’t someone willing to help me a little? The fact that there really wasn’t anyone in my life like that hurt deeply.

I joined a church in 1990, and started attending New Members class. We were instructed to pick a scripture that meant something to us and make it our own. I didn’t agree with it then and still don’t now! (Read the Bible and scripture will speak to you.) But trying to be obedient when I didn't have a clue, I choose, “I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore I have drawn you with 

lovingkindness.” Jeremiah 31:3 (KJV)

And for years I’ve been trying to get to the point where I believed and truly understood this verse.

Finally almost 20 years later—I do!

Joyce’s brother worked in her ministry a few years until the courts caught up with him and requested he pay $60,000.00, in back child support. He quit and went back to living his former life of drugs and women. In December of 2010, she received a call from the sheriff’s office in California informing her, that her brother’s body had been found in an abandoned building, and he had been dead for at least 30 days. His body was so badly decomposed; they needed dental records to be sure of his identity. 

Did God know how this was all going to end? Yes, of course He did. But what I can now see...is His love for David and His love for Joyce. He loved them both, but differently. He knew Joyce would choose to grab hold of His promises and love. David her brother would not. But, God still gave him the love he needed to have made a different choice and have a different life, if he had wanted it. 

If you are a parent with one or more children (especially close in age), or a sib, grandchild or niece, you should be able to relate to what I’m about to say.

Every child is different. You can have one child that is strong willed and a leader, another who is weak, fragile and clingy, and one who is a follower and one who is a thinker. You can have a child that is an introvert and another who is an extrovert. Or you can be the sib of one of the above. Point is—each personality needs different attention and love given in different ways.

This doesn’t mean a parent has to love one child more than the other—just often show love differently.

The extrovert is going to make friends, but the introvert is going to have to be pushed along to get out and momma or dad might have to step in and help with the friend making thing.

The strong willed child with leadership qualities will have to be roped in and guided with a stricter hand until these character traits can be trained to be used for the good. ~Smile~ Yet, the fragile, weaker one might need a little more coddling and help to build up their self-esteem.

To the strong willed child, it might seem as if they are always being disciplined or picked on, when their sib is momma’s favorite and always getting their way.

See how easy it is to believe (when not true), that one child is being favored over the other?

But that doesn’t excuse parents who treat their children differently out of a sinful heart. The father of your first child ran off and left you high and dry. Your, now husband is the father of your second and third child, and you are one big happy family. Only thing is—your first born is left out. No, this is not God’s love or way of doing things.

What we have here, are real life situations of parents loving their children individually. Giving them each what is needed to help them grow up to be the best in God they can be.

God told Samuel, “He looks at the heart”. Or in simpler terms—He knows the heart. And He knows the heart of each one individually.

If there had been someone in my life to help me get on my feet like Joyce had helped her brother—I would not be who I am today! I would have probably never had the ministry I did, and therefore a lot of women along the way would have missed out on the beauty I had to offer (in Jesus name), because of what God had done with the ashes of my life.

Because of my background, I have always struggled with believing God really loved me as much as everyone else. But I am so very happy to have finally come to the realization He really has loved me. And His love is everlasting—even while I was in my sin and through all the mess ups!

As women and individuals, we all have different needs. Some women, God has raised up to be wives and mothers of large families. As a former homeschool mom, I know this to be true. I know several mothers of large families which homeschool and trust me—there is a call on their lives to do this. It takes a special anointing to be wife of a pastor, evangelist or missionary. But someone has got to do it! Right?

Some women would never fair well in this world if not married, and there are many men who need helpmates and wives to bear their children. But that is not the case for everyone. So, therefore sisters—we have to stop superficially judging the lives of our sisters-in-Christ, being envious and believing the lie that God loves them more than us.

God loves all of us—individually. According to what we have need of. He uses the strong willed and the leaders. He takes the hardships of one and uses her to be a comfort to others. It’s all part of His plan for our individual lives, destinies and this world.

Next week I plan to continue and talk about the uniqueness of our individuality, and how wonderful that is.

Sisters, please spend daily time reading your bibles and talking to God.  

Until next week...

Blessings and Hugs,

Ponnie