Do You Really Know Jesus? - iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - December 22, 2025
"All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God" (1 John 4:15, New Living Translation).
Throughout my Christian journey, I have faced numerous challenging times. Through each of these difficult times, my faith in the Lord has grown. While I will stumble and fall at times, the Lord always places me back on level ground. When times are going well, I am still aware of Jesus' presence; yet, sometimes I have more difficulty seeing Him in the brighter days.
Once the hard time is over and the trial has lifted, I can see the purpose of my pain. This is only because of the Lord. Whether we are going through good times or hard times, we need to keep our hearts focused on Jesus. Even though it is more common to see Jesus during our pain and struggles, we also need to be able to see Him in the brighter days.
Jesus is always with us, and He surrounds us with His grace (Psalm 73:23). This is true regardless of what we are facing. He does not leave us in our struggles, nor does He go when times get better. Regardless of our situation, Jesus is present. We can hold on to this truth whenever we are struggling or facing a hard season of life.
The love the Lord has for us will continue throughout all seasons of life. However, we have to ask ourselves, "Are we doing the same for Him?" In other words, are we loving Jesus throughout every season of life? Are we loving Him during the dark days of depression and during the beautiful blooms of new opportunities? By answering these questions honestly, we will gain insight into what Jesus means to us.
Whenever we find ourselves distant from the Lord, we need to return to Him. Although there will be times when we struggle, we will always find our way back to Him. Jesus will forever welcome us home and surround us with His grace. Therefore, if we find ourselves in a position today where we see we have not been loving Jesus as we should, we need to confess these feelings to the Lord, ask for His forgiveness, and repent.
There can be shame associated with these feelings, but we must remember that we cannot continue apart from acknowledging these shortcomings and being forgiven by Jesus. Once we turn to Him, ask for forgiveness, and repent, we will be able to start moving forward in our Christian walk in a significant way. After we have done these things, we will be able to focus on improving our love for Him.
Instead of only looking for Him or loving Him when times are hard, we must learn to look to Him, focus on Him, and love Him even when life is going well. This can be a challenge for many of us, yet it is not unreasonable or impossible. Becoming invested and devoted to the Lord will change many of these feelings. The days of not thinking about the Lord will finally be over.
Jesus wants us to allow Him to be present in all our days, not just our darkest or brightest moments. He wants us to welcome Him every day. Jesus is not afraid of our feelings or our troubles (1 Peter 5:7). No matter what situation we are facing, the Lord will help us, and He will never leave our side.
The Apostle John tells us, "All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God" (1 John 4:15, New Living Translation). As John says in this passage, all who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living within them, and they live in God. Once we truly know the Lord in the dark days and in the bright days, we can truly walk in accordance with Him.
When John says we have God living in us, He is referring to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit takes up occupancy in us at the moment of salvation, and He will never leave. From 1 John 4:15, we see the importance of declaring Jesus to be the Son of God and how much this truth affects our life. If we claim that Jesus is not with us through every hill and valley, or that He is only with us during specific seasons of life, then we don't really know Him at all.
Knowing Jesus and understanding what He means to us will be reflected in our lives. From the moment we declare Jesus to be our Savior and Lord, we must begin living out the truth of His saving grace. If we find ourselves far from the Lord and struggling to understand His importance in our lives, we need to turn to Him and find answers in the Bible. With time, we will find ourselves back at the foot of the cross and this time, we will fully understand what it means to love Jesus, follow Him, and the importance of His very being.
"Dear Jesus, please help me to truly understand what it means to know You and to love You. During brighter times, it is harder to see you since I am often distracted by the world. Help me to know You and understand You throughout all the seasons of my life. In Your Name, I pray, Amen."
Photo credit: © Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio
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If you've been feeling tired, overwhelmed, depleted, or just quietly wondering where God is in the middle of a very full life — this episode is for you. And honestly? It might be for me too, because I'm recording this in one of those seasons myself.
Today we're doing something a little different. Instead of going deep in a passage, we're talking about what to do when deep feels like too much — when you need less, not more. Specifically, I'm walking you through one of my favorite practices for weary seasons: handwriting scripture.
Not typing it. Not scrolling past it. Actually writing it out, slowly, in your own hand — because something happens in your brain when you do that. The words land differently. They go deeper. And over time, they become part of that personal library of God's voice that the Holy Spirit can pull from when you need it most. That's what Psalm 119:11 means when it says I have hidden your word in my heart — it's scripture moving into your long-term memory, where it lives and stays even when you haven't opened your Bible in weeks.
I'm sharing the five verses I wrote out for myself today — and why each one hit me fresh even though I've known some of them for years. This episode is part of our How to Study the Bible Podcast, a show that brings life back to reading the Bible and helps you understand even the hardest parts of Scripture. If this episode helps you know and love God more, be sure to follow the How to Study the Bible Podcast on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!
