Saturday Devotional 2026: Live Like Your Loved
Live Like You’re Loved
by David Yeagley
I met my wife, Elizabeth, in February of my sophomore year of college. It was a love story that almost didn’t happen.
She asked me out first for a special “reverse weekend” event at our school. I turned her down.
Okay, don’t be too hard on me. I already had plans that weekend.
Two weeks later, I asked her out.
She turned me down.
And yes, she already had plans too.
Finally, we settled on a midweek date the following week.
That’s all it took. Not long after that, we started dating. There were dinners out, trips to art museums, long walks on the weekend, and even a trip home to visit her family farm.
Then came a warm spring Sabbath afternoon in the middle of April. I had planned a picnic lunch at the Fort Worth Arboretum, a beautiful garden filled with trees, flowers, and quiet paths.
I pulled out all the stops. I packed homemade sandwiches, fresh fruit, chocolate chip cookies, and even a bottle of sparkling grape juice. We spread out a blanket in a quiet place, ate our lunch, and talked for hours.
There was only one problem. I had to get back to campus that evening because I was playing in a wind symphony concert.
But sometime after the grape juice was gone and it was almost time to pack up, the conversation became serious. We started talking about us.
And there, in that beautiful garden, Elizabeth told me that she loved me for the very first time.
In that moment, everything changed.
I didn’t care if I was late for the concert. The gardens were beautiful, but I barely noticed them. People were talking all around us, but I barely heard them. All I could see was Elizabeth. All I could hear was what she had just said.
Somebody loved me.
And I loved her.
And somehow, that love changed everything.
There is a very simple truth that echoes all through the Bible:
God loves you.
Not because you are perfect.
Not because you always get it right.
Not because you are the smartest, funniest, most popular, most talented, or most spiritual person in the room.
God loves you because He loves you.
Most of us have heard John 3:16 before:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…”
But what if we did more than just memorize that verse?
What if we actually lived like it was true?
Because sometimes we don’t.
Sometimes we live like we are afraid.
Afraid we are not good enough.
Afraid we will be rejected.
Afraid no one really sees us.
Afraid we have to prove ourselves.
Afraid we have to be popular, successful, funny, attractive, athletic, or perfect before we can be loved.
So we chase things that can never really satisfy us. We chase approval. We chase attention. We chase popularity. We chase likes, compliments, achievements, and status.
But none of those things can fill the deepest place in our hearts.
Only God’s love can do that.
Author Sally Lloyd-Jones describes God’s love as His “Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.”
That is the kind of love God has for you.
A love that does not quit.
A love that does not walk away.
A love that does not disappear when you mess up.
A love that was already reaching for you before you ever reached for Him.
So what if you lived like that was true?
What if you walked into school, your cabin, your home, your church, or your team knowing that you are already deeply loved by God?
What if you stopped trying so hard to prove your worth?
What if you stopped believing the lie that you are not enough?
What if you rested in the truth that God sees you, knows you, wants you, and loves you?
Imagine the peace.
Imagine the joy.
Imagine the freedom.
Nothing would ever be the same.
So go ahead.
Live like you’re loved.
Because you are.
Questions to Think About
What are some ways people your age try to prove that they are valuable or worth loving?
When is it hardest for you to believe that God really loves you?
How would your life look different if you truly believed, every day, that you are deeply loved by God?
What is one lie about yourself that God’s love helps you let go of?
Who is someone in your life who needs to be reminded that they are loved?
Closing Prayer
Dear God,
Thank You for loving me with a love that never stops and never gives up. Sometimes I forget that I am loved. Sometimes I try to prove myself. Sometimes I chase approval from other people because I don’t feel like I am enough.
Please help me believe the truth today.
Help me remember that I am loved by You—not because I am perfect, but because I am Yours. Let Your love bring peace to my heart, courage to my life, and kindness to the way I treat others.
Teach me to live like I’m loved.
Because I am.
Amen.
