People often view love differently from the way God intended us to love. This difference is the primary reason people do not walk in love. Their definition and understanding of love are messed up. Many see love primarily as a feeling or emotion. Yet, emotions are easily affected by practical things like music, environment, friends, or food; a slight shift can alter your mood instantly. Someone might say, “I love you with all my heart,” only to stop speaking to you the next day. That is the vulnerability of treating love merely as a feeling.
People also tend to define love incorrectly. Some view individuals struggling with smoking or other addictions as people who do not love God. They may tell struggling Christians in their face, “If you really loved God, you would not do those things.” While love plays a role, it does not function the way many assume. To allow the love shed abroad in our hearts to take hold, we must see love from God’s perspective. God is love, meaning the source originates from Him, not us. We are not the producers of this love. The primary emphasis is not our love for God, but His love for us. That is the true picture of love. Check 1 John 4:10 (KJV)
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
The primary struggle for believers is not a lack of love for God, but a failure to fully receive His unconditional love. When you recognize all that Christ accomplished—taking your failures and giving you His righteousness—no addiction or sickness has any right to remain in your life. It is about His love for us, not our love for Him. Resting in God’s love empowers you to live holy naturally, far more effectively than striving to love Him in your own strength. Stop the struggle and accept His love.
From Love to Trust and then Obedience
Understanding love is the foundation of trust. Remaining in God’s love allows trust to grow and makes obedience straightforward.
John 15:9-10 (KJV) As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
You may have heard statements like, “You do not love God enough; you need to do more, have more zeal, and show more passion.” That approach is ineffective. You are asking for obedience which is the end result of love. It starts with love. Recognizing God’s love for you makes trusting Him for victory simple. Disobedience often stems from distrust, which has been sown by the devil. When you keep pointing at the problem, you are doing the devil’s job. Instead, focus on the solution: God’s love for you.
Proverbs 3:5 aligns trust with leaning on God. The Apostle John leaned on Jesus’s bosom, symbolizing his trust on Jesus’s love. This is why he referred to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” In contrast, Peter initially boasted of his own love and devotion to Jesus, yet he later denied Him three times. Expressing love for God is good, but the foundation requires first understanding that Jesus loves you unconditionally (John 15:9).
Unconditional Love vs. Human Performance
Trust means personally believing that God loves you unconditionally. Nothing you do alters His love for you. He does not love the way humans love. He does not react the way people react. You cannot compare the creator to the created.
Isaiah 46:5 (KJV) To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
God is not a man. His nature operates on love, not transactional conditions where He only responds well if you perform well.
1 John 4:8 (KJV) He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
Trust flows effortlessly when love resides in your heart. Consider how you would live knowing there is no barrier between you and God, or knowing He is consistently on your side. Love has removed those barriers.
In the Parable of the Sower (Luke 8), the enemy attempts to erode your trust in God and His Word through persecution, deception, and worldly pleasures, leading you to question His love. The goal is to redirect your trust toward personal skills, finances, government, or connections. Where your focus lies, your trust follows.
Trusting God means believing He loves, favors, provides for, and guides you—not based on personal perfection, but because you are accepted in the Beloved. Seeing the magnitude of God’s love causes life’s challenges to shrink away.
