A Reflection on the Steadfast Love of the Lord
It can be a hard concept to grasp: the God of the universe, the Creator of all things, is steadfast in His love towards us.
We know in our minds that God doesn’t change. We know from reading His Word that He is love. But what does it really look like to witness His steadfast love, to rely on it and drink deeply from it?
It’s abstract, but also very real. It’s complex, but also very simple.
To say God’s love is steadfast sounds delightful, but to know it by experiencing it is to have confidence in its wondrous nature.
If we hope to see, to truly know and be transformed by God’s steadfast love, we need to go deeper, beyond the loftiness of the words, into the heart…
When we live by the Spirit rather than the flesh—having crucified the flesh when accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior—our eyes see beyond the here and now. Our hearts feel beyond the emotion of the moment. We witness the steadfast love of the Lord all around us and in every circumstance.
We put on our “good news glasses“, and are strengthened by the visible nature of His glory at work in and through us.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!
And that is what we are!
– 1 John 3:1
Come, see. Behold it, and be transformed:
UNFAILING LOVE
The earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
His mercies are new every morning
Great is His faithfulness!
Oh, my soul, taste and see that the Lord is good!
He commands His loving-kindnesses to me in the daytime
And in the night His song is with me
A prayer to the God of my life!
You, Lord, have made the heavens and the earth by your great power.
Nothing is too hard for you!
The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth
To strengthen hearts fully committed to him.
The Lord God is my strength and my song;
He has given me victory!
With joy I have drunk deeply from the fountain of salvation.
And as the deer pants for water, so I long for more of Him.
Teach me your ways, Oh Lord
That I may live according to your truth.
Grant me purity of heart
So that I may honor you.
Search me and know my heart.
Test me and know my anxious thoughts.
May the words of my mouth
And the meditations of my heart
Be pleasing to you.
You are my God.
My Rock.
My Redeemer.
I love you, Lord
For you hear me when I pray
And I will call on you for as long as I live.
I am confident of this
The Lord has been good to me!
And He who began this good work
Will carry it out to completion
Until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is confident faith:
Being sure of what I hope for
And certain of what I don’t see.
Of this I am certain:
When I am weak – You are strong!
When I walk through dark valleys – You are with me!
If I lift my eyes up – I know where my help comes from.
And you will keep me in perfect peace
When my thoughts are fixed on you.
Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship
For they walk in the light of your presence, Oh Lord
And You are their glorious strength.
