Holy Habits: Letting Go of 'But'

Receiving God’s love is Actually a Daily Decision

Since we’ve been talking about God’s love on Monday’s and learning how to receive it, I can’t think of a better place to land today than one word:

Receive.

And I’m gonna be honest… this word is way more loaded than we act like it is.

Because when we hear “receive,” we usually think of presents, awards, compliments, salvation, forgiveness — all the big obvious stuff. But here’s what I’ve learned over the years (and yes, I’m talking about me too): a lot of us are great at receiving forgiveness… but not as great at receiving goodness.

We’re like, “Yes Lord, thank You for the cross.”
And then we add our own little footnote:
“…but I still don’t feel worthy.”
“…but I can’t let that go.”
“…but I’m still carrying the weight of that season.”
“…but I still have to prove I’ve changed.”

So we tuck those parts of our story away in a corner and let shame, guilt, fear, and pain follow us around like unwanted luggage.

And that begs a real question:

If we’ve truly received God’s love… why are there still areas of our life we won’t let Him love?

Because here’s the thing — building holy habits isn’t about doing more to earn something. It’s about creating space to receive what He’s been offering all along.

And the Greek word for receive in the New Testament is lambanō — and I won’t go deep today because that’s what we talked about Monday — but I want you to catch this: it’s not passive. It’s not polite. It’s not standing there hoping God’s love lands on you like a simple pat on the back.

It’s taking hold.

Which means receiving God’s love is actually a daily decision.

Not a one-time altar moment.

A daily “yes.”

A daily letting Him into the places we keep locked up.
A daily surrender when fear starts talking.
A daily return when insecurity tries to define us again.

So today’s holy habit is simple, but it’s not small:

Receive His love on purpose.

Not just in the areas you feel strong.
In the areas you feel tender or afraid to let go of.
In the places you still quiet tucked away pain.
In the parts of you that are tired of carrying it alone.

Because the more we receive His love in every area of our life… the more whole we become. And that is what I love most. God makes us whole.

And that’s what holy habits are really about.

I want to close with this story because it makes me think of the woman in Luke 7.

She walked into a room where she was not welcome. A room filled with religious leaders who knew her reputation and had already decided who she was. She wasn’t put together. She wasn’t respectable by their standards. She carried a weighty past that followed her into every room she entered.

And yet… she came anyway.

She knelt at Jesus’ feet and wept. She poured out expensive perfume. She wiped His feet with her hair. It was a position of vulnerability. It was bold and courageous and deeply personal.

That moment wasn’t just about surrender. It was about receiving.

Jesus said, “Her sins — and they are many — have been forgiven… Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:47–50, NLT)

Think about that.

He didn’t just forgive her. He restored her dignity. He gave her peace. He let her walk out of that room not as the woman with the reputation, but as the woman who had been loved and made whole.

And here’s what I love: she didn’t try to convince Him otherwise. She didn’t say, “Well, technically I’m forgiven, but I should probably stay quiet in the corner.” She leaned in. She showed up. She responded to God’s love because she had received it.

That’s what receiving looks like.

It’s not pretending the past didn’t happen. It’s not minimizing what you’ve walked through. It’s choosing to believe that His love is greater than it all — and then living like that’s true.

And that’s where this holy habit becomes real.

Receiving God’s love isn’t just a ‘theological’ idea. It’s learning to let Him speak over the parts of your story you still feel guilty or ashamed about. It’s letting Him say, “Go in peace,” without you adding a “but” at the end.

Because when we truly receive His love, we stop living like we’re still on trial.

We start living like we’ve been set free, because we are.

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Reflection Questions

1. Where am I still saying “God forgave me, BUT…”?

2. What am I still carrying that God is asking me to surrender?

3. What would it look like to receive His love in that one area today — on purpose?

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Anchor scriptures

John 1:12 (NLT)

“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.”

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1 John 4:18 (NLT)

“Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.”

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Romans 5:5 (NLT)

“And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”