All Your Soul

By Susha Roberts, Senior Director, Marketing

Post date: Dec. 16, 2019

Growing up in church and as the daughter of missionaries, I thought I had a pretty good handle on what it meant to love God.

My family was very loving, so it wasn’t hard to imagine a loving God and to adore him with my heart. And thanks to my brainy dad and all he taught me about the Word and apologetics, it was easy to love God with all my mind. But, honestly, I didn’t think much about loving God with all my soul.

Until the Lord allowed me to get cancer.

Suddenly, I was forced to really think about life, death and eternity. As a mom of four kids eight and under, I was desperate to get well. I asked the Lord to allow me to see my then 2-year-old son become an adult.

But something happened to me in that season that I hadn’t expected: I learned to love God with all my soul.

Through chemo and several surgeries, uncertain of the outcome, I began to seek after God in a whole new way. I remember sitting in the carpool line with a hoodie over my bald head, feeling sick and scared for the future. Then a song came on the radio that talked about willingly going through the valley because Christ did that for us. God made the ultimate sacrifice so that flawed, unworthy people like me could spend eternity with him.

Thoughts of Job’s suffering and uncertainty flooded my mind and I found myself tearfully echoing his words, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15, NIV). Although I continued to pray for healing, I chose to trust God with the outcome. That trust created a love within my soul that I had never before experienced. And from it came peace, joy and incredible comfort.

I thank God for answering my prayer — I was blessed to see my son turn 21 last month! But I also thank God for the dark valley that brought me to a place of loving him with all my soul.

When your future seems uncertain, when life is unfair or when you just feel sick and discouraged, remember the love that died for you. Remember the love that has planned a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Remember the love that is eternal (Psalm 136).

Loving God with all your soul puts your life into perspective with eternity, fostering a gratefulness that helps you to stand strong in the tough moments (Hebrews 10:23) and endure with joy (Hebrews 12: 1-2).

A Time of Reflection:

• Have you ever had an experience that made you fear for your life or a loved one’s life? How did the hope of eternity help you?

• What does it look and feel like to love God with all your soul?

• Are you struggling with a difficult moment now? Read Psalm 136 aloud in several versions to remind yourself of God’s enduring, plan-filled love.

Don’t forget to explore more about what it means to love God with all your soul in our devotional!

Para leer el devocional en español oprima aquí.