Jen Musselwhite

There is something powerful about the way God designed women to receive, nurture, and multiply. This same design that works in us physically is also how God wants to work in us spiritually. When we open our hearts to receive His love, nurture it through prayer, and pour it out onto others, something extraordinary happens.

Why Do Women Struggle to Receive?

As women, we often operate in a mindset of addition. We think: if I do this, plus this, plus that, it will equal the result I need. But God works in multiplication. He wants us to simply receive what He offers and trust Him to do far more than we could manage on our own.

The problem is that receiving does not come naturally to many of us. There are two common reasons why.

Pride: “I’ve Got It Handled”

Some of us struggle to receive because we genuinely believe we do not need help. We are capable, we are strong, and we have it covered. Like a mom in a grocery store parking lot, clearly overwhelmed, who tells the kind stranger offering help, “Oh no, I’m fine!” We push away the very help being extended to us.

God sends people and provision into our lives and says, “I want to help you. Will you open your heart and receive?” And too often, we say no.

Shame: “I Don’t Deserve It”

On the other side, some women feel unworthy. They feel inadequate and undeserving of the gifts God wants to give them. This is not humility. It is self-pity, and it keeps us from stepping into everything God has for us.

Both pride and self-pity are forms of sin. A.W. Tozer called them the “self sins.” Whether we think we have it all together or we think we are too broken to be used, both postures keep us from receiving freely from God.

What Is the “More Excellent Way” Paul Talks About?

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul writes about spiritual gifts and how God uses the diversity of those gifts in the body of Christ. But at the very end of that chapter, he says something that changes everything. He writes:

“But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.” – 1 Corinthians 12:31 English Standard Version (ESV)

And then he goes directly into 1 Corinthians 13, the great chapter on love. The more excellent way is love. Not a strategy, not a program, not a perfectly organized ministry. Love.

God’s invitation to women is this: be receptacles of His love. Receive it freely. Let the Holy Spirit nurture it in you. Then pour it out and watch it multiply.

How Does God’s Love Actually Transform People?

This is not just a nice idea. It works. There is a real story of a woman who came to every women’s event but always stood on the outskirts. She never joined in. She did not want to be touched or talked to. And yet she kept coming back.

Why? Because inside every woman is an innate desire to be loved. God placed it there. That longing kept bringing her back even when she did not know how to cross the distance between where she was and where she wanted to be.

Over the course of about a year, consistent love, intentional love, love that kept showing up even when it was not welcomed, began to do its work. And one day, she smiled. That was the moment love broke through.

This is what love does. It is patient. It is persistent. And it transforms.

What Does It Mean to Be Loved Unconditionally?

In Ephesians 5, Paul instructs husbands to love their wives using the Greek word agape. This is unconditional, sacrificial love. It is a reflection of how God loves us.

When we know we are loved no matter what, something shifts in us. We feel secure. And when we are secure, we are free. Free to be who God created us to be without the weight of fear, performance, or shame holding us back.

This is the foundation of everything. Security in God’s love sets us free.

What Does “Fervent Love” Look Like in Real Life?

1 Peter 4:8 says:

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” – 1 Peter 4:8 English Standard Version (ESV)

Fervent love is not a feeling. It is a choice. And it is powerful enough to cover not only the sins we commit but also the sins committed against us.

Offense will come. In any community, in any friendship, in any ministry, people will hurt each other. We will say the wrong thing. We will be short-tempered. We will disappoint one another. That is just the reality of life together.

But when offense comes, we have a choice. We can take it, or we can let love act as a covering. Like a thick salve applied to a wound, God’s love protects us and heals us. When we are covered in it, offense comes but it does not stick.

How Can Women Become Multipliers of Love?

The goal is not just to receive love for ourselves. The goal is to become dispensers of it. When one person is transformed by love, they become a transmitter of that love to others. And it multiplies. It becomes contagious.

This means choosing not to take offense when a woman walks through the door angry, bitter, or difficult. It means trusting that the same love that changed you can change her. It means staying consistent even when love is not welcomed right away.

God does not ask us to have it all figured out. He asks us to receive His love, nurture it, and give it away. He handles the multiplication.

Life Application

This week, identify one area where you have been refusing to receive. Maybe it is pride telling you that you do not need help. Maybe it is shame telling you that you do not deserve it. Ask God to soften your heart and help you open up to what He wants to give you.

Then look for one person in your life who is standing on the outskirts. Someone who seems closed off, difficult, or hard to love. Choose to show up for her consistently, not because it is easy, but because love is a choice and it is the more excellent way.

Ask yourself these questions as you reflect this week:

• Am I operating from pride or shame when it comes to receiving from God and others?
• Is there an offense I have been holding onto that I need to let love cover?
• Who in my life needs consistent, patient, unconditional love right now, and am I willing to give it?
• Do I truly believe that God’s love working through me can transform someone else?
• God’s love is not passive. It is active, persistent, and powerful. When we receive it and give it away, lives change. Including our own