If you knew me before I came to Christ and still knew me today, you would see in action the lovingkindness of the Lord. For God has redeemed me from a pit so deep and so dark that only He has the arms long enough and the will strong enough and the love so merciful to pluck me up out of it, brush me off and give me an embrace that reached all the way from Calvary mount. And His love continues as He is gracious enough to walk the rest of this life with me, loving me, teaching me and still bringing me up out of the pit when I fall.
"A Psalm of David. 'Bless Jehovah, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless Jehovah, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases; who redeems your life from ruin; who crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercies; who satisfies your mouth with good; your youth is renewed like the eagle's.'" (Psalm 103:1-5)
As we saw before in Jeremiah, the Lord tells us that the truth regarding His character is that He is a God Who exercises
As we saw before in Jeremiah, the Lord tells us that the truth regarding His character is that He is a God Who exercises
lovingkindness. Some may wonder if that is true given all that
is happening in our world today. Even in our own personal lives
so many are experiencing very deep and difficult trials. Where is God when those trials are taking place? Is He truly a God of lovingkindness?
In David's psalm, he speaks to his own soul, reminding himself that our God is worthy to be praised and worshipped. That His very name is holy and one that is worthy to bow down to. As David does, may we who worship God as our Lord daily remind ourselves of the endless benefits that have been borne out of our relationship with Him and for those benefits we should be eternally thankful.
Our every sin has been forgiven by the sacrifice of the blood of the Son of God. He temporarily gave up His throne and then His very life to redeem each of us from our own pit of sin so that we could live with Him forever.
That is lovingkindness.
In that salvation that we have received God heals our soul's infirmities. As we seek after Him, He purifies our hearts and our minds so that we are no longer bound by sin as we once were. But we are set free from the chains of bondage as God's Holy Spirit ministers to us and comforts us daily, through every trial and decision and heartbreak and then rejoices with us in every mountaintop experience. He trades our sorrows for His joy, holding us close to Him as He promises to never leave us.
That is lovingkindness.
He redeems our lives from the spiritual darkness in which they were and brings us into the light. He encircles us with His endless lovingkindness and compassion so that there is nowhere we can go without them. And as a perfect parent, He gives us all things that are good for us.
And though our bodies are wasting away, as we abide in our Lord our souls are lifted up as an eagle, soaring over our difficult pasts, our regrets, our failures, so that our remembrance of them is dim, and we instead see more clearly the beauty of Him Who has called us. The youth of our souls has been restored because they can never grow old and die, but rather they will live on forever in His glory.
That is His gracious and merciful lovingkindness.
There is no higher form of lovingkindness than to give up one's own life to save that of another. And God not only saved our mortal lives, but our eternal souls. He could have stopped there and the gift of eternity would have been enough. But He continues to show that lovingkindness as He imparts to us His very character of peace and joy and wisdom and all that we need if we will but open our eyes to the gift He gives us of Himself every moment of every day.
How can you pass on to others the gift of God's lovingkindness?
In David's psalm, he speaks to his own soul, reminding himself that our God is worthy to be praised and worshipped. That His very name is holy and one that is worthy to bow down to. As David does, may we who worship God as our Lord daily remind ourselves of the endless benefits that have been borne out of our relationship with Him and for those benefits we should be eternally thankful.
Our every sin has been forgiven by the sacrifice of the blood of the Son of God. He temporarily gave up His throne and then His very life to redeem each of us from our own pit of sin so that we could live with Him forever.
That is lovingkindness.
In that salvation that we have received God heals our soul's infirmities. As we seek after Him, He purifies our hearts and our minds so that we are no longer bound by sin as we once were. But we are set free from the chains of bondage as God's Holy Spirit ministers to us and comforts us daily, through every trial and decision and heartbreak and then rejoices with us in every mountaintop experience. He trades our sorrows for His joy, holding us close to Him as He promises to never leave us.
That is lovingkindness.
He redeems our lives from the spiritual darkness in which they were and brings us into the light. He encircles us with His endless lovingkindness and compassion so that there is nowhere we can go without them. And as a perfect parent, He gives us all things that are good for us.
And though our bodies are wasting away, as we abide in our Lord our souls are lifted up as an eagle, soaring over our difficult pasts, our regrets, our failures, so that our remembrance of them is dim, and we instead see more clearly the beauty of Him Who has called us. The youth of our souls has been restored because they can never grow old and die, but rather they will live on forever in His glory.
That is His gracious and merciful lovingkindness.
There is no higher form of lovingkindness than to give up one's own life to save that of another. And God not only saved our mortal lives, but our eternal souls. He could have stopped there and the gift of eternity would have been enough. But He continues to show that lovingkindness as He imparts to us His very character of peace and joy and wisdom and all that we need if we will but open our eyes to the gift He gives us of Himself every moment of every day.
How can you pass on to others the gift of God's lovingkindness?
Hi Dorci,
ReplyDeleteI know you as groovychick from the Dekker board. I enjoyed reading through your blog. The circle trilogy and Mark of the Lion trilogy are also my two favourite works of fiction!!
Andrew
Thanks, Andrew, I really appreciate that!
ReplyDelete