God's unfailing love

May 20, 2021 (Thursday)

 

Tears. It’s a way of life, thanks to sin and the curse it earned. I have watched people die, done funerals from them, and cried along with grieving loved ones. You may not have seen it, but I do cry. Sometimes bitterly.

 

It’s not a grief for them, but for the loss here on earth. These tears do not go unnoticed. “The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man.” [Psalm 33:13 ESV] Nobody is unnoticed. Doesn’t matter how rich or poor, how privileged or down-trodden. God sees everyone, everything, every time.

 

God notices, even on His throne: “From his throne he observes all who live on the earth.” [Psalm 33:14 NLT] Sometimes, it’s hard to understand God. Well, not sometimes… most of the time. Okay, all the time. We understand God’s nearness and His presence everywhere. But… there are times when we need this majestic word picture of God in complete control.

 

There is a saying, “God is still on His throne.” We use it to remind ourselves that God is in control. I’m not sure if that is a comfort or not. But, God does “observe.” I feel like I’m digging my hole deeper at this point, because that’s not a comfort either.

 

People have in image of a faraway God who “observes.” Despite what this appears to be, “Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.” [Psalm 33:20 ESV] How can we declare this? There is no promise that God is going to intervene.

 

Enough! God does intervene, not necessarily the way we want or when we want.  Would it be enough to wait for the Lord and trust Him as “our help and our shield” if we didn’t get what we wanted when we wanted it?

 

Here’s the ideal, “For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.” [Psalm 33:21 ESV] Trusting God has its own benefits. Joy/gladness is one of them. Peace is another (see Isaiah 26:3). There is some comfort that God knows what is going on and knows how best to handle our situation.

 

Remember our prayers do not happen in a vacuum. For every person praying for mercy, there is another praying for justice. But this Psalm ends, “Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.” [Psalm 33:22 NLT] Does your situation really matter? It does to you. It does to God. That is the “hope” we have.

 

All this is ends with God’s “unfailing love.” You might think you are not worthy, but Jesus would argue something different. Jesus sacrificed Himself so you can personally experience God the Father’s unfailing love.

 

That’s what’s guaranteed… “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?” [Romans 8:35 NLT] That’s a “rhetorical question.” The answer is NOTHING!!! An NO!!!

 

Today is going to hurt. But that’s okay. Go ahead and cry. Just don’t let it keep us from looking for God’s unfailing love and what that means.