Do you ever feel “invited” by God to ready or study in a certain place within the Bible?
In this uncertain season during the interruption of our normal rhythms I have felt “invited” into the Psalms. Psalms gives us permission to feel deeply about what is happening in our lives.
The poems and songs in the book of Psalms are inspired by the Living God (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
As I read through them, I feel like the author(s) are on the same rollercoaster that we are experiencing in these days. In one verse things are great and joy abounds, and in the next the “singers” of these Psalms are in crisis, lamenting and crying out for God’s justice. The writers model anger, tenderness, compassion, guilt, loneliness, joy, and every emotion you could imagine.
Psalms give us permission to feel deeply about what is happening in our lives.
We are currently teaching a series on Sundays called 50 Days to Love, Jesus’ new command to love one another.
John 13:34-35 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”.
As we walk through these 50 days from Easter to Pentecost, we are re-learning that God’s love is what we need to receive in order to be able to obey Jesus’ command. It is through the ministry of the Holy Spirit living inside us that we can express love to others.
I want to walk you through part of Psalm 36 that I read this morning which highlights qualities we can appreciate about our God.
5 Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. 6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD. Psalm 36:5-6 (NLT2)
The Hebrew word for “unfailing love” is hesed. This concept coupled with faithfulness gives the overall feeling of “loyal love” or “covenant love.” This word is sometimes translated as “mercy” in English as well. The Hebrew word for “stork” comes from hesed, because of the tender care the stork has for its young. Stork parents often make their nests high in the trees to protect their babies from predators.
God’s faithfulness means that He always keeps His promises. He is consistent, trustworthy and never changing. The analogy of God’s loving kindness reaching to the skies means that there is no limit to how vast God’s love is for us. We can keep coming back over and over and He always has more for us to receive.
The Apostle Paul also picks up on the vastness of God’s love for us in Ephesians 3.
17 ... And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19 (NIV)
Another thing that is fascinating in verse six of Psalm 36 is “his love extends to all of creation”.
It is broader than just loving people; it even extends to your dog! I love the tenderness of David as he is writing here, probably thinking about the sheep that he shepherded. He called them by name and was willing to fight off lions and bears who threatened his sheep. It’s with this same fierceness that God fights for us and helps us in times of trouble.
In versus 7-9, David expands and extends the love of God over all people on earth.
7 How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings. 8 You feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your river of delights. 9 For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.
There is protection and goodness shown to even those who don’t yet follow Jesus.
He provides and lets people experience light and life. God answers the prayers of even those who aren’t choosing to follow Him. His ear is always listening to the prayers of those who are following Him, and ready to listen to those who have not yet put their faith in Him.
As we walk through a time of uncertainty, I want to remember the goodness of God and rest in His faithfulness. It is my prayer that we seek Him in this season and ask Him to protect us from harm and lead us to a place of light and life. I don’t want to sleep-walk through this season and miss out on going deeper with Jesus.
We have an unprecedented season of availability to connect with God. There will never be a time with less distractions in our culture than these days. With sports, entertainment and many of our activities limited or unavailable – what will you do with the time given to you?
I am choosing to get more into His Word. I am trying to be more and more intentional about thinking about things of God instead of just trying to figure out another way to be entertained or comfortable.
This season will come to an end and I want to benefit from it the best I possibly can. I want to begin to understand this love that is “unknowable” that God has for us. I want to receive more of His love so I can love others more.
Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
I invite you to join us on our 50 Days to Love series livestream Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m. on our Facebook page and YouTube channel.
If you missed last weeks introduction to our 50 Days to Love series, click her to listen to the podcast or watch the video.
