Feb 25: Remaining in God’s Love Brings True Joy
John 15:9 –
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love."
When Love Feels Fragile
I remember the first time I really questioned love. Not the existence of it, but its reliability.
As a kid, I watched relationships break, people walk away, and promises dissolve like morning fog. It made me wonder—if love can change, how do we hold onto it? How do we know when it’s real?
Jesus speaks into that very fear in John 15:9. He doesn’t just tell us we are loved—He invites us to remain in His love.
Not visit occasionally.
Not just believe in it when life is good.
But remain. Stay. Dwell.
That’s the kind of love He offers—one that won’t leave when we mess up, get tired, or fall short. It’s a love that lasts.
So many of us have been let down by human love. Maybe you’ve been betrayed, forgotten, or hurt by someone who once said they loved you. If that’s you, hear this today: God’s love is not like that. His love is constant, unwavering, and unshakable.
When you remain in His love, you’re not just accepting an idea—you’re stepping into the safest, most secure place you could ever be. You are held by the One who knows your heart better than you do, who has seen your every failure and still calls you His own.
💛 When the world tells you that love is earned, God reminds you that His love is freely given.
💛 When people fail you, God stands firm.
💛 When you feel like you have to strive to be worthy, God whispers, “You already are.”
The Kind of Joy That Stays
We chase joy in a hundred different ways—success, approval, the next big thing.
But have you ever noticed how those things never seem to be enough? How even the best moments still leave us wanting more?
Jesus gets that. That’s why, right after telling us to remain in His love, He says:
📖 "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." (John 15:11)
His joy isn’t a temporary high. It’s not the kind that fades when life gets hard. It’s steady, unshaken, and deeply rooted in something eternal—His love.
And when we live from that place, joy isn’t something we have to chase. It finds us.
I once met a woman who had every reason to be bitter. She had lost more than most people could bear. But there was a light in her eyes, a peace in her words. When I asked how she still had joy, she simply said:
➡️ "Jesus never left me."
That’s what happens when we remain in His love.
💡 Joy stays, even when life hurts.
💡 Even in the waiting.
💡 Even when the answer is “not yet” or “not in the way you expected.”
If you’ve been searching for joy in all the wrong places, take a step back.
✅ Joy isn’t found in a perfect life.
✅ It’s found in a perfect Savior who loves you beyond measure.
✅ It’s found in knowing that even when life is uncertain, His love is a sure foundation.
Maybe you’ve been waiting for circumstances to change before you can feel joyful again. Maybe you’ve been thinking:
🗣️ “I’ll be happy when…”
But Jesus offers joy today—right now, in the middle of whatever you’re facing. The kind of joy that can:
🎶 Sing in the storm
🙌 Praise in the valley
💪 Endure because it rests in something far greater than fleeting emotions
How Do We Remain in His Love?
It’s easy to talk about remaining in God’s love, but how do we actually do it? Here’s what I’ve learned:
1️⃣ Show up daily
Talk to Him.
Read His words.
Be with Him like you would a close friend.
📌 The more time you spend in His presence, the more you’ll recognize His love at work in your life.
2️⃣ Trust even when it’s hard
Love isn’t proven in the easy moments; it’s proven in the storms.
Remain when life doesn’t make sense.
Remain when prayers seem unanswered.
🙏 Trust that He is working even when you can’t see it.
3️⃣ Love others, even when they don’t deserve it
Because that’s exactly what He does for us.
When we experience God’s love, it overflows.
📖 “We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
4️⃣ Stop striving for love you already have
You don’t have to earn what He’s freely given.
You don’t have to prove your worth.
He called you loved before you ever did a single thing for Him.
A Love That Holds You
Jesus doesn’t want us to live in fear of losing His love. He wants us to rest in it.
✔️ To build our lives on it.
✔️ To stop striving and start abiding.
✔️ To replace worry with trust, exhaustion with rest, and doubt with confidence in His never-failing grace.
The world tells us that love is fragile. That it comes and goes, rises and falls.
But Jesus tells a different story.
❤️ His love holds.
❤️ His love stays.
❤️ It never wavers, never weakens, never walks away.
And when we remain in it, we find something even deeper than happiness—we find joy.
✨ A joy that isn’t fleeting but full, rich, and complete.
✨ A joy that stands firm when everything else falls apart.
✨ A joy that will carry us home.
So today, wherever you are, take a breath. Lean in. Stay close to Jesus.
🤍 His love isn’t going anywhere—and neither is the joy that comes with it.
If this message encouraged you…
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🙌 If this spoke to you, share it with someone who needs it.
📢 Let’s spread the truth of God’s love together!
An Invitation to go Deeper….
If today’s message spoke to you, join the FaithLabz 30-Day Prayer Challenge and strengthen your connection with God’s unshakable love. You are never alone—let’s grow together!
