Kim Wilbanks

Valentine’s Day Expectations

Well, it’s over. Another Valentine’s Day has come and gone. The balloons are deflating, the flowers are wilting and the chocolates are fifty percent off at the grocery store. 

In this season of love, can I offer some encouragement if your Valentine’s Day didn’t quite live up to your expectations?

Perhaps you don’t have a special someone right now. Maybe you have not yet met the one or there was a break-up with the one you thought was the one. Maybe you are grieving the loss of your loved one who has died.

Perhaps your Valentine isn’t the romantic type. Maybe the idea of going out to a restaurant on one of the busiest nights of the year isn’t their idea of fun. Maybe they picked the wrong flowers or candy — or they got you candy when you are trying to eliminate sugar from your diet. Maybe your Valentine had to work on February  14.

If your Valentine’s Day didn’t live up to the standards of a Hallmark movie, you are probably not alone. 

If this is the case, I want you to know there is One who can surpass all of your expectations regarding love. You can look to Him because He created love. He is love and He will not disappoint. 

A Love Better Than Valentines

The Bible is a story of God’s great love for us. Here are four of my favorite verses about love that I turn to often when I need to be reminded of God’s love for me.

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness” Jeremiah 31:3 NIV

God was speaking to the Israelites but it applies to us now as well since we’re his adopted children. Isn’t it amazing to know that God’s love is everlasting? It isn’t as long as we’re good or until we mess up or until He gets tired of us. It’s EVERLASTING . And it is He who draws us to Himself with his kindness.

The Lord your God is among you, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will calm you in his love. He will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 WEB

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. As a mom, and now a grandmother, I know what it’s like to hold a child in my arms and sing to them. The image of my heavenly father holding me, calming me, and singing over me brings me to tears. It is a powerful image of his amazing love.

For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from God’s love, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 WEB

You know, the apostle Paul who penned this verse could have simply said “nothing will be able to separate us from God’s love” but he didn’t. He made his point. He wanted the believers to grasp the concept that there was nothing that they could conceive of that would separate them from the love of God. That applies to me and to you too.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1 NIV

I love this particular version of this verse because of the word lavish. It really conveys the extravagance of God’s love for us. Think of getting a room full of roses instead of a single bouquet or bowls and bowls of strawberries to dip in a huge chocolate fountain. God’s love is above and beyond what we can imagine.

A Reminder of True Love

It is interesting that Valentine’s Day fell on Ash Wednesday this year. The day that we celebrate love was the day we focused our thoughts on Jesus and his road to the cross — the ultimate gift of love for us. 

Whether you had the best Valentine’s Day ever or if it didn’t live up to your expectations, I hope you will be encouraged by these verses I shared. God has so much to say to us about love in his word. I pray that you know the greatest love of all, the love of God through his son Jesus.

How about you? Do you have a favorite love verse from the Bible? I’d love to know.