“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others. And to all these virtues add love, which is the perfect bond.” – Colossians 3:12–14

Each of us women of God in the Love God Greatly community longs to live a life that reflects Jesus’ heart in our thoughts, words, and actions. I know we all desire to grow in the beauty of Christ from the inside out.

However, we are often running on empty. We feel tired, overwhelmed, weary, and broken. We deal with each day as it comes to the best of our abilities, barely holding on to hope and most of the time forgetting the teaching and encouragement we receive from our morning quiet times. By the time evening comes, we are panting and desperate for a breath of fresh air. Often we go to bed exhausted, never having taken a deep breath all day, let alone soaked our minds and hearts in the truth of God’s Word, only to repeat the same the next day, and the next. Verses like Colossians 3:12–14 sound encouraging and are an inspiration to read, but can sometimes feel like a far-fetched dream—one we desperately want to become our reality, but if we are honest, we have given up before we even tried.

Whatever life looks like for you right now, no matter your circumstances, God is offering this life to you. He isn’t just offering; our SOAP verses today are a description of the life already available to you, a life hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3), a life that is now yours as His child. Whether you feel it or not, it is true. So let’s dive together into how it can be possible, and how we can, throughout continual sanctification by God’s grace, grow in and into this reality.

I love the order in which these verses were so divinely inspired and written. In order to claim these truths, virtues, and this life, we have to start at the beginning, not the end. We cannot become loving all of a sudden, we first have to root ourselves in who we are—in our true identity.

Look with me to verse 12 where all Christians are called “the elect of God, holy and dearly loved.” The ESV translation puts it this way, “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.” 

As Christian women navigating life, family, and faith in the compromising culture of today’s world, I believe we need to rest in this truth about who we are for a while. It is easy to forget, and we must remind ourselves, and each other, often.

Perhaps you can take today to focus on this verse. Meditate on God’s Word and who He says you are. The original Hebrew meaning of meditation on Scripture means to mutter or to ruminate. It means to carry a thought, a verse, a truth with you throughout the day, muttering it to yourself as you go, chewing on it over and over until it completely dissolves and soaks into your heart, mind, and soul. 

What would the world look like if every woman of God knew the truth that she has been chosen by God, that she is holy and dearly loved, to the core of her being? 

What would your world look like if you knew it, believed it, and lived by it?

And so, I dare you, or simply encourage you: meditate on the truth today that you are the elect of God, holy and dearly loved. You may not feel like this is true—today or in life in general. However, dear sister in Christ, the chosen one, precious daughter and child of God, I dare you to trust Him. Nowhere in the Bible are we called to depend on our feelings. We are called to trust Him who is faithful, the one who calls you Beloved.

Let God use His Word to speak truth into your heart, reveal Himself to you, and transform you from the inside out. 

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Petra Stoneman

Petra lives in Northern Ireland with her husband, Michael, and chocolate lab, Boomer. Originally from the Czech Republic, she serves on the LGG Translators team as one of the Czech Branch translators. Petra is passionate about discipleship and raising up a new generation of believers. She serves in the youth ministry of her local church alongside her husband, who is a full-time youth pastor, and she loves to encourage young women in their relationship with Jesus.