It’s Not That You Don’t Believe in God’s Love—It’s That You Haven’t Felt Safe Enough to Trust It

Have you ever found yourself reading verses like “You are God’s masterpiece” (Ephesians 2:10) or “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3), and instead of comfort, you feel confusion or even a quiet ache?

You know the Bible says you’re loved. Chosen. Treasured. You want to believe it. But somewhere deep inside, it just won’t land. You hear it, but you don’t feel it. And you certainly don’t live like it’s true.

Sister, if that’s you, you’re not alone.

When Truth Doesn’t Feel True

It’s one thing to know what God says about us in our heads. It’s another to believe it in our bodies, emotions, and daily choices. Many of us struggle with this disconnect. We nod along in Bible study and post the verses on our fridge, but deep inside, we carry shame, insecurity, or a quiet belief that we are “too much” or “not enough.”

Why?

Because wounds shape us before truth has the chance to rewire us.

What the Brain Says About Belief

Your brain is wired for survival first, not truth. This means that if, growing up, you experienced criticism, neglect, rejection, comparison, emotional unpredictability, or spiritual pressure far more than safe, stable, consistent love, your nervous system learned something: “I must protect myself from being seen too deeply.”

That protective wiring becomes a filter. Even when you hear words like “loved” or “chosen,” your survival brain quietly says:
“That doesn’t apply to me.”
“They don’t really know the real me, and if they did...”
“This is too good to be safe.”

The right brain, where emotional memory and attachment live, doesn’t respond to concepts. It responds to experiences.

Ready for this truth bomb?  You can’t argue or logic your way into belovedness.
You have to experience it.

We Need Relationships to Rewire the Lie

God designed us to know who we are in relationship. From birth, identity is not declared in isolation, it’s shaped in connection. That’s why just reading your Bible isn’t enough (though it’s beautiful and vital). Truth is relational. It must be felt, not just taught.

When someone sees you and stays…
When someone reflects God’s patience toward your imperfection…
When someone helps you regulate, grieve, rest, or delight…
…your nervous system begins to learn:
“Maybe I am loved. Maybe I am safe.”

Slowly, your inner defenses soften.
Slowly, your brain forms new pathways of trust and identity.
Slowly, the truth becomes believable.

God's Love Needs to Be Experienced, Not Just Announced

This is why the Church needs emotionally mature discipleship—not just sermons, curriculums, and programs. People need embodied love, not just information. Jesus didn’t just say “you’re valuable.” He touched the leper, wept with the grieving, and fed the hungry. He felt with people. He stayed with people. And in doing so, He rewired their understanding of who they were.

We need that kind of love, too.
Not to earn God’s love, but to experience it.  Love that stays.  Consistently. 

If You Struggle to Believe You’re God’s Masterpiece…

You’re not broken. You’re human. And likely, you’re carrying years of unhealed places where love didn’t feel safe or real.

God’s truth is still true, even when your heart can’t hold it yet.

But here’s the good news:
You don’t have to fix this alone.
Healing happens in connection.

Find safe, mature people who can sit with your doubts without fixing or judging. People who will remind you gently and consistently: You matter. You’re enough. You’re not too much. You are not forgotten.  Pray for them to be sent to you or selected.  He has them in mind for you already. 

And as you experience that kind of steady presence, your brain and body will start to believe what your heart has longed to hear all along and your identity will grow and develop in the part of your brain where it will land, and stay:

You are loved.
You are worth staying for.
You are His masterpiece.
You are who He says you are. 
You have gifts and a calling He uniquely gave to just you that are needed and relative. 

Even on the days you don’t feel like it.

If this resonates with you, take heart. Truth takes time to become lived reality. Keep showing up. Keep seeking safe spaces. And most of all—be gentle with yourself as you grow.

You’re becoming who God already knows you are.

So for you and your healing journey. 

Peace, love and joy, 

Rebecca Jo