One of my favorite memories—and one I often write about—is the day I realized I had fallen in love with God. I don’t mean the day I was born again; but rather, this was after. It was the day I realized that a strong sense of God’s presence was the greatest need of my life.
That day changed everything.
I need to explain something important first. Even though I had been born again many years earlier and had become a member of God’s family, and my soul and spirit had been made alive in Christ—I had never truly learned how to live in His presence. I knew God was real, but I did not yet know the immense joy and peace of walking closely with Him.
I didn’t know God for who HE says He is; rather, I was stuck thinking of God as how I THOUGHT He was.
Then came August 6, 2015, on my son’s graduation trip. We were in Rome. By this point, I had spent about three years seriously seeking God—meeting with Him each morning, reading His Word, learning to pray, committing to church, and allowing Him to have more and more freedom to transform each area of my life. Over this time, I had come to see Him more and more as completely trustworthy. He had proven Himself to be my most faithful Friend.
But that morning, something happened I never expected.
As I sat quietly with Him, His comfort, peace, and joy flooded my heart in a way I had never experienced before. The feeling was so strong that it reminded me of the moment you realize you’ve fallen deeply in love with someone. It startled me. I had never imagined that I could actually fall in love with God. Yet in that moment, I understood how profoundly my soul longed for Him—like the way your heart aches when you love someone so much you can hardly bear the thought of losing them. I knew the experience of His love was what I had searched for my entire life.
God had loved me since before I was born, but I never truly understood the goodness of His love until I began to seek Him intentionally.
The experience was staggering. That very morning, He planted in my heart the words of the Psalm that inspired the song that I later recorded with my son, “Whom Have I?” The Psalmist wrote:
“I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:23–26
These verses expressed perfectly what I felt. He was the One I wanted to walk through life with. He was the One I wanted beside me in every trial and every joy. No human love I had ever known could compare to the steady, faithful, unbreakable, gentle love of God.
Yet I’ve learned something else important since that day: falling in love with God is not a single arrival—it is a lifelong journey. Just like any meaningful relationship, intimacy with Him must be protected and cultivated. There is a constant pull from our enemies—the world, the flesh, and the devil—to draw us away from experiencing complete belonging in His presence. Jesus warned,
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” John 10:10
Because of that, we must be mindful and intentional about maintaining our relationship with God. We stay close by spending time in His Word, in prayer, through obedience, within a strong church community, and by keeping our hearts tender toward Him. Jesus promised, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love.” (John 15:10) Abiding in His love is where peace, joy, and security are found. We must persist in developing His mind and attitudes.
This Valentine’s Day, the world celebrates romantic love—flowers, cards, and sweet words. Those things can be beautiful. But the greatest love any of us will ever know is the love of God Himself. The Bible says:
“We love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
God’s love enriches all our love relationships beyond what we could ever experience without Him.
Even now, years after that day in Rome, I have to choose daily to guard that relationship. I must choose to meet with Him, to listen for His voice, to surrender my will, and to draw near again and again. But every time I do, I am reminded why I fell in love with Him in the first place. My heart still sings,
“You are all I want; You are all I need. Whom in heaven besides Thee?”
If you would like to hear the song God inspired on this pivotal day of my life, you may listen for free by clicking this link. It’s also on all music platforms.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me with a love that never fails. Thank You for pursuing me long before I ever pursued You. Forgive me for the times I have let distractions, worries, or lesser loves pull my heart away from Your presence. I choose again today to seek You first and to guard my relationship with You above every other pursuit. Draw me closer to You. Fill my heart with Your peace and joy, and remind me daily that there is no greater treasure than knowing You. Help me to be faithful in loving You as You have so faithfully loved me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
2 Responses
Thank you for this reading. It did click with me that I’ve been trying to seek God’s presence in a much stronger bond of love. I’ve been going through a lot lately and haven’t been able to sort through my feelings. This is beautiful! 🌹🙏🤍✝️
So glad it blessed you like it did me. God is so faithful and His Word is so rich! He knows we struggle because we hurt each other so much. He is the love that never hurts us. So much of our music is about this…like the song “Never Hurt You.” I wrote some of these songs when I was struggling with being rejected by someone I thought loved me. Maybe they will encourage you too! Blessings, Kimberly Faith https://gofaithstrong.com/blessed-liberty/