You have heard that you cannot control what others say or do; you can only control yourself. Do you give Satan control over your life by not resisting his temptations and lies? The Bible says we should be controlled by God’s love through the Holy Spirit. Loving as God loves is sacrificial and very hard to do in our human flesh, which is why we need the Holy Spirit’s power. Satan and his demons do not want you to love others or experience God’s love, so he will cause you to be offended or tempt you to offend others instead of loving them.
In the first half of 2026, I wrote about what to do about demons/evil spirits. In this post, I want to explain how the Holy Spirit (part of the Trinity of God) gives you power to love sacrificially. God the Father (also part of the Trinity) loved us so much that He gave His Son, Jesus Christ (also part of the Trinity), as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins (John 3:16 & Eph. 1:7).
Are You Controlled by Christ’s Love?
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church the following in 2Corinthians 5:14a: “For the love of Christ controls us.” Are you controlled by the love of Christ? For many years of my life, I was controlled by my emotions and the actions of others; read last week’s post to learn more. My mind was focused on the things of this world that made me angry or worried, rather than on God and His truth. I could not love others well. Since then, I have been healed of most of my trauma memories, and I am more focused on the truths of God. I sometimes react when I feel wronged by someone. But love shows mercy to those who wrong us. Mercy is hard to do when you want to punish those who hurt you. But God said we are to show mercy because He showed mercy to us (Luke 6:36 & Eph. 2:4-7). When you are mentally and spiritually healthy, you can be controlled by the love of Christ.
Do You Love Sacrificially?
Jesus said in John 13:34-35 the following: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35) By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Loving others is hard when you never felt loved or feel worthy of love and don’t trust that people love you. But God will heal the broken areas of your life when you submit them to Him and forgive.
I knew God loved me and I wanted to love others, but I couldn’t because I felt as if His love went through holes in my heart. The holes in my heart were healed when I sacrificially forgave those who hurt and betrayed me. Forgiving is a sacrificial act of love toward those who don’t deserve it, just like we did not deserve God’s forgiveness. Romans 5:5 states, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” When your heart is healed, you can retain His love and give it to others.
Are You Rooted and Grounded in God’s Love?
The Apostle Paul explained in Ephesians 3:16-19 some amazing truths: “that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Let’s face it, sometimes it is hard to love the unlovable, mean people in our lives. We are promised the following in this passage. I could write extensively about each of these points. Take time to really comprehend what Paul is writing here.
a. You will have strength with power through His Spirit in your inner being.
b. Christ would dwell in your heart through faith.
c. You will be rooted and grounded in love.
d. Comprehend the breadth, length, height, and depth and to know the love of Christ.
e. Be filled with all the fullness of God.
These promises are yours when you do what is written in Romans 10:9-10, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10) For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” When you believe in your heart, then you will receive the promised Spirit through faith (Gal. 3:14). Then the love of God will be poured into our hearts (Rom. 5:5), and we will be filled with ALL the fullness of God. WOW! Have you ever considered that God indwells you? Do you think that if we truly comprehended this, our lives would be different?
Do You Love from a Pure Heart?
Lastly, we are to love from a pure heart. 1Peter 1:22 states, “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.” When we obey the truth and forgive those who offend us, we will have a pure heart and be able to love others sincerely. Also, when we obey the truth to lay aside selfish ambition and humbly honor others above ourselves as Christ did, we will love from a pure heart (Phil. 2:3-8). Do you earnestly love others from a pure heart? Ask God to show you where you are not loving well, then ask Him why. When He shows you, then forgive those who wounded your soul and ask God to heal that memory and purify your heart of that resentment. Read my online book to learn more about healing your soul.
2John 1:3 states, “Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.”
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My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.
If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.
Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles. my post called Breaking Mental Strongholds Book. Also, check out Fighting Unseen Battles on Amazon. To learn more about this book, read: How to Fight Unseen Battles.
Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.
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