The Unfailing Love of God
Do you feel surrounded by God’s love?
Verse of the Day
Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord .
Today’s Devotional
I’m not one to call anyone wicked. But that kind of talk is all over the Old Testament. Jesus told us to love and serve and pray for our enemies, so let’s just leave it at that.
Today, let’s focus on the second half of this verse. Unfailing love surrounds you if you trust in God. Honestly, I think the unfailing love of God is available to anyone, even those who do not yet trust Him. He still seeks out those who do not yet believe. Those people may not be surrounded by God’s love yet, but it is available to all.
For those of us who already believe, the question is…Do you trust Him? Just your belief is a great beginning. We have been studying solitude and the importance of shutting out the noise of the world. The simple choice to even try to practice solitude (or any other discipline) is evidence of trust. If you are still reading along here, my guess is that you trust God a little, at least. Notice that the verse does not say that those with BIG trust are surrounded by God’s unfailing love. Just trust. Even a little.
What does it mean to be surrounded with God’s unfailing love?
Imagine being outside on a hot Texas day. The heat is really all you can feel. Then you step into a pool that is the perfect temperature. Refreshingly cool but not cold. Your entire physical body is surrounded by the water. It is still just as hot outside, but because you are surrounded by the cool water, you feel refreshed. That is the power of God’s love. It can refresh us in the middle of the “heat” of our lives. Choosing to practice solitude is the equivalent of stepping into the pool.
But…can I be honest? I cannot always summon the refreshing feeling of God’s love. I know it is there. I know He loves me. But sometimes my feelings do not match my knowledge. What are we to do about that?
I think this is one of the places where our trust gets tested. Do we trust God enough to know that we are surrounded by His love even when we don’t feel it? One of my favorite sayings is this: Saying we cannot feel the love of God is like a fish saying it cannot feel the ocean.
When I need reminders of God’s unfailing love, I ask Him. And I have plenty of days like that. This world is hard and stressful and can get the best of me sometimes. When I ask God to show me a reminder of His love, he is kind and does just that. It could be a certain song that comes one the radio or comes up on my playlist. It could be an unexpected kind word or gesture. It could be that the Bible verse of the day that pops up on my phone is exactly what I needed.
I have a sign in my house that is such a great reminder of what trust looks like. This sentence was found written on a cellar wall during the holocaust.
“I believe in the sun even when it is not shining, I believe in love even when I cannot feel it, I believe in God even when He is silent.”
May we take the time today to spend some time alone, and quiet, and turn our attention who the God who loves us. May your day today be filled with reminders of the unfailing love that surrounds you. If you cannot feel it today, may you trust that it is there nonetheless.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Describe a time when you could feel that you were surrounded by God’s unfailing love.
How do you handle it when you can’t feel God’s love? Do you trust that is it still there?
Do you trust God enough to ask Him for a reminder of His love today? If so, and you do that, be sure to pay attention.