God is the Alpha and the Omega, who had no beginning and has no end. Psalm 90:2 declares of Him, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” He is worthy of neverending praise and glory for the great things He has done.
If ever we doubt His sovereignty, it should only take one look at a natural wonder to remind us. We are tiny dots in the vast universe He created in all His might. Truth be told, simply looking into my limerence object’s eyes seemed like a natural wonder to me. It literally stopped me in my tracks once, because they were such a bright and beautiful blue. I was captivated by him more than anyone or anything else.
Unfortunately, thinking of him that way was putting him before God, breaking the first and greatest commandment. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart,” Jesus teaches us (Matthew 22:37-38). My actions did not acknowledge God as the only one worthy of worship “from everlasting to everlasting.” (Psalm 106:48) I had devoted my heart to one of His creations, who didn’t even give me his heart in return.
Undying Love Was Killing Me
For me, true love was always second in importance only to Jesus. “True love conquers all” and “true love never dies” were mantras of mine. I wrote them on notebooks and journals and believed they could prove true for me if I was persistent enough. They strengthened my devotion to my limerence object in the face of overwhelming odds.
A tug-of-war of perceived reciprocation and momentarily recognition of the truth plagued my heart. He fueled my hope by speaking to me in the hall, but then it seemed like he might be interested in someone else. (At least it seemed clear that he was not really interested in me.) But I didn’t let that stop me from hoping and trying again.
“You’re asking her to the school banquet instead of me? Okay, that hurts, but I still love you anyway,” I decided. “You’ll never love me back? Well, that’s completely devastating… but nevertheless you will always be the one for me.”
My undying love for him was killing me slowly. I was willing to sacrifice everything else for a mere glimmer of hope with him. Instead of straight “A”s in school, I started getting “C”s and sometimes worse on some of my assignments. I hated waking up after having a dream in which he finally told me he loved me. Reality felt like too much for my heart to take.
Agape Love Calls Us to Life
God’s love for us is undying too. However, completely opposite to draining the life out of us like limerence does, it gives us life in an instant! Every time a person places his or her trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, a real miracle takes place. A soul that was enslaved and doomed to spiritual death is suddenly reborn to new, eternal life. (Romans 6:4)
In the Bible we learn about four kinds of love: philia (friendship), storge (familial), eros (romantic) and agape (unconditional). Of these, agape love is the most admirable and amazing, because it is unconditional, perfect love. Only God is capable of agape love, and He extends it graciously toward us. Even more, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever,” (Hebrews 13:8). So while we are not worthy of His love even for a day, His love for us lasts forever.
This amazing love calls us to a better life. Not one that is characterized by hopeless longing for something that will never be. It offers us life everlasting, abundant and free from fear, uncertainty and sorrow that does not end. As it is written in 1 John 4:18, “Perfect love casts out fear.” God makes it possible for us to sing to Him with confidence, “Your steadfast love is better than life.” (Psalm 63:3)
A Promise Made: Everlasting Joy
Many readers of this article may have reached the point of sleeping to escape reality like I did. Perhaps you are longing for a way out of the darkness because you can’t live like this anymore. In such depth of grief, it is not easy to believe it is possible to find joy again. But we who follow Jesus do not grieve without hope! (1 Thessalonians 4:13)
That passage of Thessalonians in its original context refers to grieving the death of fellow believers. But doesn’t it feel like a part of you has died when you realize your favorite person is not equally taken with you? Straight to our broken hearts, God promises restored joy to those who trust in Him! Isaiah 35:10 says, “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. They shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
Hope of joy returning to my life was key to my recovery from limerence. Fighting with all my strength just to go about my day, every day, was not sustainable. So I clung to the promise of joy for dear life. John 16:24 is one of my favorite verses about joy: “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
It took a long time, as it always does after tragedy takes its toll. But God is faithful to do what He says, so when I finally asked, my joy gradually did return. He will do the same for anyone who sincerely prays for Him to make the way to new life worth living.
The Promise Kept: Heavenly Inheritance to Come
Some promises in the Bible are yet to be fulfilled, particularly those about our future life in Heaven. In this indescribably wonderful place, there will be no more tears and no need to find an escape from the truth. (Revelation 21:4) God’s beauty and majesty will fill the throne room and make us forget all about our earthly treasures and desires. (1 John 2:17) We will lay them at His feet, along with the crowns with which He will reward His faithful servants. (Revelation 4:10-11)
I’m reminded of the old hymn, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.” The chorus declares how God’s glory far surpasses anything on this earth. And the verses are likewise rich with truth from scripture, like how we are “more than conquerors” through Jesus. (Romans 8:37) Let these truths encourage you as you face darkness in the fight to be free.
Joy, peace, hope, love, freedom and life will abound in Heaven, and the best part is it will never end. All these marvelous things will be ours to enjoy forever and ever. Until then, we can hold on to these promises and take one step forward at a time to the glorious future that awaits us.
Live Like You Have Everlasting Life
Because of what Jesus has done for us, we have the blessing of everlasting life. He has called us out of darkness into His glorious light, so let us walk worthy of this calling. (1 Peter 2:9, Ephesians 4:1)
We do not need to spend any time ruing the day we ever fell for our limerence objects. Nor do we have to resign ourselves to a life of loving someone who will never feel the same way. Instead, we can take up our crosses as Jesus took up His cross for us to save us. (Matthew 16:24-25) At the same time, we can cast our cares upon Him and know the burden He calls us to carry is very light. (1 Peter 5:7, Matthew 11:30)
In the daily battle, we can “consider it all joy” because the heavenly inheritance we have is well worth it. (James 1:2-3) In so doing, we embrace the life He intended us to live, from everlasting to everlasting.
