A few years ago as I was learning to trust the Lord, I was driving at night in a dangerous part of town when my car broke down.

I had only sat there a few minutes when a tow truck pulled up. The driver asked if I needed help, then towed my car to a dealership, gave me a ride, and loaned me his phone to call my son to meet me.

He showed me that He would take care of me.

Recently, a revelation came to me that I have been clinging to Jesus, but that He wants me to rest in His embrace.

I don’t have to strive to get everything right, but I can rest in the finished work of Christ on the cross. He will direct my path.

I guess my big question has always been, “Do you love me?” I was rejected and abandoned by my mother at a very young age.

Although my dad provided a secure home, I have battled with belonging and attachment issues. This is called having an orphan spirit when Christ wants to give us the heart of sonship.

Our comfort should come in knowing that we are sons and daughters of our loving Father, God.

Jesus commanded us in Matthew 11:28 to “Come to Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest for your souls.

“For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

Jesus modeled this concept during His earthly ministry. He did nothing unless He saw His loving Father do it (John 5:19).

He said, “When you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” We are hidden in Christ. When we understand who we are in Christ and put our faith in Him and His finished work on the cross, then our souls can find rest.

The cross is the believer’s source for victory over every sin. In Christ, in what Jesus did on the cross, is the grace for victorious Christian living, not striving by works but in accepting the gift of God.

Paul said in Ephesians, “For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.”

So to answer my question, “Does He love me?” I only have to look to the giver of all love. God’s love is unconditional.

It is not based on my performance, my beauty, or my good works. It is based on God who is love, full of mercy and grace and who I am in Christ.

So what hinders me from receiving this intimate love relationship with God?

The answer is found in 1 John 1:5-7: “And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

“If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

As my sin, pride, self love, false humility and lack of forgiveness bring darkness into my life, I am separated from God’s presences and His loving embrace.

As I am transparent and open with the Holy Spirit, I find rest for my soul.