Feeling unlovable and unworthy? Read these 20 Bible verses on God’s love for us to see how beloved you really are as a child of God.
I’ve been going to church since I was born.
I memorized John 3:16 in children’s church when I was just a little kid.
I knew all about God’s love but for so many years, it was just knowledge. It didn’t feel personal or tangible to me.
And, because of that, I spent years struggling to find my identity in other things:
….but all of those things left me feeling empty and hopeless.
So, I went back to the source.
This time, I didn’t just read the Bible verses on God’s love for me. I studied them. I personalized them.
I chose to believe that God’s Word is true…yes, even (and especially) for me.
And it changed my life.
Believing these verses were true about God’s love for me:
- gave me hope in hopeless situations
- brought me a joy so much deeper than momentary happiness
- gave me peace in my restless, wandering heart
- inspired me to do good and right things out of love, not obligation
It broke through chains in my heart that I didn’t even know were there and allowed me to walk in freedom with Him, confident in my identity as a child of God.
I hope and pray these verses allow you to experience that same freedom.
Scriptures on God’s Love For Us
1. Deuteronomy 7:9 – A Covenant Of God’s Love
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.
Deuteronomy 7:9
I think it’s so important to remind yourself of the basics. God is God. He is faithful, He loves you dearly, and He keeps His promises.
You don’t need to wonder if He loves you, no matter what you’ve done. You are a child of God, therefore He loves you.
It’s simple but mighty!
2. Psalm 3:3 – God Lovingly Lifts Your Head High
But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
Psalm 3:3
Can you picture the tenderness of our Almighty God here, reaching down and lifting your head?
What a powerful picture of love right there – meeting you while you are down and lifting your head high.
3. Psalm 5:12 – He Surrounds You With Favor
Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.
Psalm 5:12
God’s love has so many different facets to it and His protection is one of them.
It doesn’t mean bad things don’t happen to Christians. We do live in a sinful, fallen world. But it does mean that God still surrounds you with His favor, as with a shield.
That’s some powerful imagery, isn’t it?
And, if you are getting hung up on the “righteous” part because you don’t feel very righteous…you’re right! We will always fall short of that mark.
That’s why God sent Jesus. We are righteous because of His sacrifice, not because of our works.
4. Psalm 36:5 – God’s Love Reaches To The Heavens
Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.
Psalm 36:5
When you were a kid, did you ever have someone say, “I love you *this* much” as they spread their arms out as wide as they could?
As kids, that visual helps us to understand that it’s not just a little bit of love…it’s a whole lot!
That’s what I think of when I think of this Psalm. But God’s arms are so much bigger than ours could ever reach…they are boundless, as is His love!
It’s not just a general love. It’s a personal love. A love the Lord has for you.
5. Psalm 136:26 – His Love Endures Forever
Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.
Psalm 136:26
So many of us sing worship songs with these words, but do we actually believe them?
Do we believe that He loved us the second we were created, before we could do anything to earn it?
Do we believe He still loved us when we made that terrible, awful mistake so many years ago?
His love endures forever.
That word “forever” is not used on accident. We might use that word to exaggerate sometimes (like, “I feel like I’ve been waiting in line for forever!), but in God’s Word, forever really does mean forever!
6. Proverbs 3:11-12 – Discipline Out Of His Great Love For You
My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.
Proverbs 3:11-12
This is where things can get a little bit sticky.
I don’t know about you but somewhere along the line, I got the idea in my head that love was all hearts, smiles, and rainbows. I mean, it sounds nice, right?
But here, the Bible is talking about discipline (not so smily and happy).
We don’t often feel loved when we are disciplined but when God shows us those healthy boundaries, it’s truly an outpouring of His love, desiring for us to be on the right path – His path – with Him.
We all know healthy boundaries are good for us, but when they don’t feel good, we don’t usually connect them with love.
I’d like to challenge you to look for those places in your life where you may be uncomfortable or experiencing some growing pains and try to connect them with God’s love for you.
Changing your definition or expectations of love can rock your world in the best kind of way.
7. Isaiah 54:10 – Unfailing Love
Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
Isaiah 54:10
If I asked you to imagine the person in your life who you felt most loved by, chances are you’d imagine someone who had a lot of compassion for you.
It would probably be a person who loved you just as you are, listened well, was empathetic for your struggles, and who encouraged you to be the best you could be.
That’s kind of how I picture God’s unshakable, unfailing, compassionate love for you.
8. Lamentations 3:22-23 – God’s Great Love
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23
How often do you ache for a fresh start after a difficult season or a mistake you’ve made?
I think God speaks to that desire here with a reminder that God’s compassion is new every morning.
When things feel too big, like they are just swallowing us alive, our God is bigger and it’s because of His great love for us that we are not consumed.
9. Lamentations 3:32-33 – A Love With Compassion
Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone.
Lamentations 3:32-33
The definition of the word “unfailing” includes words like – reliable, constant, and without error.
His love for you is perfect.
10. Zephaniah 3:17 – Rejoices Over You
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17
This is one of my favorite Bible verses on God’s love for you.
Knowing someone loves you is one thing. Sometimes it feels like someone like a family member has to love you out of obligation.
But here, God is talking about how He takes delight in you and rejoices over you.
Not only does He love you, He likes you too!
Believe this verse is true for you.
God takes delight in you. God rejoices over you.
11. John 3:16 – The Love Of God For The World
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
Another way God expressed His love for you was by sending His Son down to earth.
He became a man who experienced all of the brokenness, sickness, and temptation that we go through in this world.
He knows our struggles intimately because He’s been through them himself.
Not only that, but He lived a perfect life and then took the punishment for my sins (and yours) so that we could experience freedom, grace, forgiveness, and personal connection with God.
Talk about an expression of love for you!
He already paid the cost. Now, it’s your job to accept those gifts from Him.
12. Romans 5:5 – In His Gift Of The Holy Spirit
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Romans 5:5
God gave you Jesus but He also gave you the Holy Spirit as another expression of His love for you.
I love the wording here – “God’s love has been poured out.”
It wasn’t a gift of obligation in any way, shape, or form. This was an outpouring of love for you – His precious child.
13. Romans 5:8 – While We Were Still Sinners
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
I know I’ve already talked about His love in the gift of Jesus, but this verse points out something else that is very important to remember – “while we were still sinners.“
Even though I know that God’s love can’t be earned…I still get caught in the trap of thinking He’ll love me more if I do better. I feel like I have to do something to earn His forgiveness, His love, His blessings.
But that’s just not how the Bible talks about God’s love.
He pours these undeserved blessings on us even when we’re smack dab in the middle of messing up.
It’s still hard for me to wrap my mind around a love so great.
14. Romans 8:37-39 – Nothing Can Separate You From His Love
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:37-39
“…through him who loved us.”
There is so much power in that one phrase. We were never meant to do this life on our own (but, goodness, I sure have tried).
But His love makes us great. More than conquerors, in fact!
And the best part of all is that nothing can separate us from that love.
Nothing.
Not our worst sin. Not anyone else’s sins against us. Not our darkest day.
Nothing.
It’s a given in your life.
15. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 – Love In The Bible
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
This is the most popular verse on love in the Bible. We use this verse in weddings as a sweet, romantic verse for couples, but these are the traits of God’s love for you.
He’s patient with you. He is kind to you. He isn’t easily angered with you. He doesn’t keep a list of your mistakes. His love protects you.
16. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 – The Love Of Jesus
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15
Paul wrote this verse in 2 Corinthians, describing that Christ’s love was not just something he knew about.
Christ’s love compelled him.
When we believe the Truth of God’s Word – what He says about His own character and about our identity in Him, it changes us.
17. Ephesians 2:4-5 – His Great Love, By Grace
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Ephesians 2:4-5
Another verse to emphasize, yet again, that God sent Jesus for us “because of his great love for us.“
You are loved.
And, by grace, you have been saved.
18. Ephesians 3:17-19 – Established In Love
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:17-19
As I said, believing in God’s love for you is a way to root and establish yourself.
When you are questioning who you are, what your purpose is, how you can impact the world, God’s love is your foundation.
And this love is deep and wide and long and high and is greater than we could ever fully comprehend!
19. 1 John 3:1 – God Lavished His Love On You
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
1 John 3:1
God hasn’t just poured love on us, delighted in us, and blessed us with Jesus and the Holy Spirit…He also lavishes His great love on us.
His love for you is extravagant.
20. 1 John 4:9-12 – Love In Sacrifice
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
1 John 4:9-12
This Scripture in 1 John describes another way God’s love can transform our lives.
It’s out of His love for us that we can love each other well.
Those qualities that set God’s love apart – extravagance, healthy boundaries, patience, kindness, slow to anger, unfailing, freely given – those are not natural to our sinful hearts!
But, the more you experience the depth of His love for you in those ways, the more you can pour that love out to others in your life – friends, family, even strangers.
21. 1 John 4:16-18 – Fearless & Perfect
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
1 John 4:16-18
God is love. Love is not just something God does or shows…God IS love.
And that perfect love driving out fear?
I need that reminder daily.
There are so many things I’m afraid of – failure, letting people down, messing up…God’s perfect love drives out fear.
His love brings peace, contentment, joy, and so much more when we just accept it.
Looking For More Verses On God’s Love For You?
Identity In Christ: Believing You Are Who God Says You Are
19 Bible Verses on Confidence and Self Esteem
Please Find Me Beautiful: Not Your Typical Love Story
