How Do You Internalize Being Loved

A friend asked me (Bill) this week how to internalize that sense of being loved by God. They mentioned that it would solve a lot of problems in their life if they were so deeply grounded in love. They wondered if it meant that they wouldn’t have to give in as much to the compulsions that often drive them or to the sadness that stalks them.

I can relate. My response was, “As for how to internalize - that’s indeed the issue. I’ve been on the journey for 40 years and I’m still working on it!!!!!” Perhaps you feel the same way.

There’s not going to be a quick fix for any of us here. Instead, we’re all going on the same journey of letting in the diving words of blessing that Jesus heard at his baptism.

You are my son, whom I love. With you I am well-pleased. -Mark 1:11

So how do you do that? (That’s a real question - I’d be curious to hear your answers)

One of the ways that I do it is that each morning, the first thing I do is make the sign of the cross (touching forehead, chest, then shoulder to shoulder) and say a rendition of those words from God: “Beloved child, God’s delight.” I’m naming myself for the day. I’m trying to set the trajectory for my day. I’m trying to remind myself through a physical motion and spoken words of the things that are true - that I stand under the cross of Christ and am considered beloved by God.

What is one way today you might try to internalize being God’s beloved?