Psalm 118
How are you guys feeling? This is craziness, right? So many things are unfolding at a pace we can hardly keep up with.
I hope if you are a Christ-follower you are anchoring yourself in the absolute truth of God’s Word. We don’t know how or when this will all shake out. I hope the uncertainty helps produce humility and a dependence on praying, reading and abiding in Christ - obeying His Spirit and heeding His Word.
I hope if you are someone who has never fully surrendered your heart to Christ, you will!
Read the book of John in the Bible. Ask God to speak to you through His Word. If you want someone to talk with I’d be more than happy to talk with you, or put you in touch with someone. I’m not a pastor or a counselor, but I’m a friend who would love to help as much as possible. God doesn’t promise to give us every answer we may want, but He does promise to love us with a steadfast, enduring love through all of the questions. He promises, through His Word, to be a lamp for our feet and a light on our path. If you feel like you are walking in total darkness right now, reach out to Him.
My prayer is that we will all, collectively, turn our hearts to God: the one true God who knows all, sees all, and still wants nothing more than to love us.
There’s a ton of great passages in Scripture we can turn to right now, but there’s one I keep going back to, and have found so much comfort and strength in. We’re reading it together as a family, and I’m reading it in the quiet moments when I feel very alone.
Psalm 118. I encourage you to sit and read the entire chapter, but here are the highlights.
The psalm begins and ends with the same phrase, like strong bookends holding these promises upright:
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”
Give thanks!
Why?
Because God is good.
Why is he good?
Because his steadfast love endures…
His love endures through trials
His love endures through sickness
His love endures through loneliness
His love endures through financial trouble
His love endures through relationship problems
His love endures through loss
His love endures.
And it endures forever.
Have you been disappointed in your life by a love that didn’t endure? I have. God’s love endures.
The passage goes on to declare an incredible list of God’s promises. Promises that describe His character and His nature:
The Lord answers us when we are in distress
He sets us free
He is our helper (the Holy Spirit)
He is our refuge
He is our protector
He is our strength
He is our song
He is our salvation
He exalts
He disciplines (a good Father)
He opens the gates of righteousness
He is the cornerstone that the builders rejected (Jesus)
He is the Creator
He has made his light to shine upon us
I hope reading through this psalm is a blessing. I hope these promises are uplifting. I just wanted to write this to encourage you (and remind myself) to lean into truth and stand firm on the promises of God. They are unwavering and unchanging.
I believe the heart of the Father is grieved as He looks upon His creation right now. He sees our hurt and hurts with us. He sees our sin and beckons us to repent. He sees our lack of faith and encourages us to trust. But I also know His heart is filled with so much love.
Cling to Him. He loves you, and His love endures forever.
