avatar
Denise Kohlmeyer
avatarDenise Kohlmeyer2 min read  

BELOVED

(Photo: Unsplash)

Beloved. What a beautiful word. And when you know the Greek translation of it, it become even more precious.

Beloved: “loved, dear, esteemed, favorite.”

Did you know God uses this word 60 times in the Bible when addressing his people? In essence, God is calling us His esteemed ones, His dear ones, His favorite ones. It is used—and only used—of those who have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. God does not call anyone outside of Christ beloved. ONLY His blood-bought children.

If that doesn’t warm and assure your heart, I don’t know what could.

I write this because Valentine’s Day is next week, and some of you may be dreading this day, given that you may not have a significant other in your life, or your children are far away. For others, you welcome this day with warm hearts and open arms.

Regardless of your status—single, divorced, married, widowed—please know that if you are His child, you are beloved. You are loved and favored by God. Focus on your status as GOD’S BELOVED on February 14, above anything else.

Below is a short prayer that you can pray on that day, to remind yourself of how much you are loved and esteemed by your heavenly Father. How you are a favorite child of God.

Jesus, my Redeemer, you made a way for me to be with God in heaven, which is my dearest hope. Jesus, my Sanctifier, you make me complete day by day. Jesus, my Shepherd, you call me by name, you know me; and you guard and guide me every day. Jesus, my High Priest, you are attentive to my every prayer, even when I don’t know what or how to pray. In you, Jesus, I am truly blessed and wholly satisfied. I need nothing else and no one else. No earthly, temporary gift compares to you, Jesus. I am BELOVED because of you! Thank you, sweet Jesus, for the gift of yourself in all its many facets. Amen.

Be encouraged. Be loved. Amen.

Give

Subscribe to the Daybreak Devotions for Women

Be inspired by God's Word every day! Delivered to your inbox.

More from Denise Kohlmeyer

  • avatarDenise Kohlmeyer

    I BID YOU ADIEU!

    It is with a heavy heart that I announce the closure of my blog. I have taken on a new job with a nonprofit organization that requires a lot of my time and energy. In thinking and praying about simplifying my life and the things that I could remove from my life, my blog came to mind. God gave me peace as I prayed about discontinuing it. I've loved the time we've had together, and I pray this blog was a small blessing to you each month.I hope and pray you all have a wonderful summer. If you'd lik

    1 min read
  • avatarDenise Kohlmeyer
    featureImage

    THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE GRAPEVINE

    Boaz: “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before.” (Ruth 2:11) Boaz: “All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character.” (Ruth 3:11) When I read these verses about what Boaz heard about Ruth, I’m struck by how the gossip grapevine worked favorably, which is typically not the case. The grapevine usually is vici

    4 min readGossipRuthEncouragement
  • avatarDenise Kohlmeyer
    featureImage

    FAITH: HAVING THE RIGHT FOCUS

    Read Matthew 6:25-33In verse 33, Jesus essentially told His disciples that anxiety is a misplaced focus on the temporal, on what they will eat, drink, and wear. This is the focus of the unsaved, Jesus said. But it should not be the focus of God’s redeemed children.Jesus instructed His disciples, and us today, to instead recalibrate our focus from the earthly to the eternal, to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”We understand from the last devotion (Faith: The Antidote to Anxie

    2 min readDevotionalWorrySeek God FirstFaith
  • avatarDenise Kohlmeyer
    featureImage

    FAITH: THE ANTIDOTE TO ANXIETY (PART 1)

    Matthew 6:24-33If anxiety did add hours to our lifespans, many of us would live to be as old as Methuselah, who lived 969 years. But it does not. Quite the opposite. Studies have shown that anxiety can actually subtract hours, even days, from our lives. Anxiety increases our risk for certain illnesses, such as heart disease, which can lead to an early death. Anxiety can also affect our mental health in the form of headaches and depression.Was this why Jesus in today’s passage cautioned his disci

    2 min readFaithWorry and AnxietyMental healthEncouragement
  • avatarDenise Kohlmeyer
    featureImage

    HEAR FOR US

    “In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears” (Psalm 18:6). “No worries, sweetie. I’m always hear for you,” I texted my daughter recently when she apologized for text-venting to me about her awful day.She texted back, “Don’t you mean “here”?I looked at my typo and laughed. It was a mistake, of course. Or was it?As a mom, I want to be available to my three children whenever they need me, whether it is t

    2 min readEncouragementThe Presence of God
See all from Denise Kohlmeyer

Editor's Picks

  • avatarMark Brady
    featureImage

    “You Give Love a Bad Name”

    Image generated via AI. You live life however you want to. It’s all about you. You are the only one that matters. Your opinions are always right. You build yourself up while putting others do…

    4 min read
  • avatarNicole O'Meara
    featureImage

    Sehnsucht in the Blue Ridge Mountains — Nicole O'Meara

    Sehnsucht is hard to put into words, as can be seen in my painfully limited ability to describe what I felt at a vista in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Some call it joy. Some called it wistful longing for something you can’t explain. It has been called melancholy and nostalgia. It is all of that, and mo

    10 min read
  • avatarCarol McLeod
    featureImage

    Gratitude on the Go — Carol McLeod Ministries

    In case you have forgotten this important piece of information about my life or have somehow missed it – my daily walks are nothing if not legendary . I have had numerous divine appointments with needy, hurting people as I saunter along my 3-mile route in the neighborhoods near my home.

    7 min read
avatar

Denise Kohlmeyer

More from Denise Kohlmeyer

  • avatarDenise Kohlmeyer

    I BID YOU ADIEU!

    It is with a heavy heart that I announce the closure of my blog. I have taken on a new job with a nonprofit organization that requires a lot of my time and energy. In thinking and praying about simplifying my life and the things that I could remove from my life, my blog came to mind. God gave me peace as I prayed about discontinuing it. I've loved the time we've had together, and I pray this blog was a small blessing to you each month.I hope and pray you all have a wonderful summer. If you'd lik

    1 min read
  • avatarDenise Kohlmeyer
    featureImage

    THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE GRAPEVINE

    Boaz: “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before.” (Ruth 2:11) Boaz: “All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character.” (Ruth 3:11) When I read these verses about what Boaz heard about Ruth, I’m struck by how the gossip grapevine worked favorably, which is typically not the case. The grapevine usually is vici

    4 min readGossipRuthEncouragement
  • avatarDenise Kohlmeyer
    featureImage

    FAITH: HAVING THE RIGHT FOCUS

    Read Matthew 6:25-33In verse 33, Jesus essentially told His disciples that anxiety is a misplaced focus on the temporal, on what they will eat, drink, and wear. This is the focus of the unsaved, Jesus said. But it should not be the focus of God’s redeemed children.Jesus instructed His disciples, and us today, to instead recalibrate our focus from the earthly to the eternal, to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”We understand from the last devotion (Faith: The Antidote to Anxie

    2 min readDevotionalWorrySeek God FirstFaith
  • avatarDenise Kohlmeyer
    featureImage

    FAITH: THE ANTIDOTE TO ANXIETY (PART 1)

    Matthew 6:24-33If anxiety did add hours to our lifespans, many of us would live to be as old as Methuselah, who lived 969 years. But it does not. Quite the opposite. Studies have shown that anxiety can actually subtract hours, even days, from our lives. Anxiety increases our risk for certain illnesses, such as heart disease, which can lead to an early death. Anxiety can also affect our mental health in the form of headaches and depression.Was this why Jesus in today’s passage cautioned his disci

    2 min readFaithWorry and AnxietyMental healthEncouragement
  • avatarDenise Kohlmeyer
    featureImage

    HEAR FOR US

    “In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears” (Psalm 18:6). “No worries, sweetie. I’m always hear for you,” I texted my daughter recently when she apologized for text-venting to me about her awful day.She texted back, “Don’t you mean “here”?I looked at my typo and laughed. It was a mistake, of course. Or was it?As a mom, I want to be available to my three children whenever they need me, whether it is t

    2 min readEncouragementThe Presence of God
See all from Denise Kohlmeyer