Living Loved
Receiving the Identity God Chose for You
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Preface There comes a point in every person’s life when outward strength is no longer enough to quiet the inward ache. We learn how to function, how to cope, how to perform, how to be “fine,” yet something deep within us continues to ask: Who am I? Am I truly loved? Why do I still feel afraid? Why do I keep repeating the same patterns? These questions shape our emotional world, our relationships, our spiritual life, and the way we see God. When we do not have answers, we live from insecurity instead of identity, fear instead of truth, self-protection instead of love. As a clinician and a follower of Jesus, I have spent years listening to people’s stories—stories of grief, disappointment, survival, longing, hope, and deep internal conflict. I have watched people try to fix themselves through performance, perfectionism, independence, people-pleasing, and emotional walls. I have watched hearts protect themselves from love because love felt unsafe. I have watched fear become an identity and shame become a lens through which people interpret God. And yet, I have also seen what happens when a person begins to encounter the real love of God—a love that is intentional, choosing, protective, patient, and transforming. A love that does not shame, pressure, or abandon. A love rooted not in our worthiness, but in His will. Most people do not know who they are because they have never fully received the love that defines them. Chapter 1 — The Foundation of Being Loved (Opening) Most people live their entire lives without ever discovering who they truly are. Not because the truth is hidden, but because it is hard—painfully hard—to face the reality that identity is not based on feelings, achievements, relationships, or experiences. Identity is built on something far more confronting: Who God says you are. “As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now remain in My love.” — John 15:9 (NIV) This is the foundation of everything that will follow. But let me be clear from the beginning: this book is not for the faint of heart. Learning to live loved—truly, deeply, consistently loved—is one of the hardest spiritual disciplines you will ever practice. Not because God is distant, but because your flesh is loud.
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About the Book
Many Christians know God loves them. Far fewer know how to live from that love. We believe the right things, yet still live from fear, striving, control, or self-protection. We perform, withdraw, people-please, or over-function—not because we lack faith, but because love has not yet become the place where we remain. Living Loved is an invitation to something deeper than emotional reassurance or better behavior. It is a formation-centered journey into identity—learning who you are when God’s declaration carries more authority than fear, failure, or feelings. Through Scripture, spiritual formation, and pastoral insight, this book gently exposes the ways fear shapes identity and how self-protection disguises itself as wisdom. Readers are invited to slow down, notice what they trust, and choose love—not as a feeling, but as a daily discipline of obedience and surrender. This is not a book about trying harder. It is a book about remaining. “Remain in my love.” — John 15:9 (NIV)
About the Author
Amy J. Wiggershaus holds a Master in Clinical Counseling and a Minor in Biblical Studies from Asbury Theological Seminary. She is a licensed clinician at the supervisor level and has spent years walking with individuals through the complexities of identity, fear, healing, and transformation. Her passion for helping others discover who they are in Christ has grown through both her clinical work and her study of Scripture. This book was born from Amy’s experience in counseling practice and her deep belief in the power of God’s intentional love to reshape the human heart. She desires to see people set free from fear, anchored in truth, and restored into the identity God has chosen for them. Amy lives in Ohio, where she continues to write, teach, and guide others into the life-changing reality of living loved.