“I have loved you with an everlasting love…”
Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV)
We were walking hand-in-hand a number of steps behind my husband as he pushed my dad in his wheelchair towards the restaurant entrance. Our outings had become less frequent as mom’s Alzheimer’s progressed; and she became less attached to reality and more confused and agitated by unfamiliar situations.
On that particular day, mom was carrying on a rambling, nonsensical one-sided conversation as we slowly approached the restaurant; she abruptly stopped and turned to look at me clear eyed and fully aware.
“Sherri,” she said, remembering my name and recognizing me as her eldest daughter, which was no longer a common occurrence. Then in the clear, cogent, mom-voice that had filled my life with so many beautiful memories but that I had not heard for a very long time, she said, “no matter what happens, I want you to know how much I love you…how much I have always loved you.” Choking back tears, I hugged her and told her how much I loved her, while on the inside I was completely undone.
The few years that followed became increasingly difficult and heartbreaking as the disease stole the person that was my sweet momma – erasing her memories, silencing her laughter, extinguishing her vibrant identity, and destroying her mind and body. I had never doubted my mother’s love, but those words spoken as we stood on the restaurant parking lot encouraged and comforted my heart when I became a stranger to her, and sadly, when she became a stranger living in the shell of my darling mother. Even now, her reminder of love echoes often in my mind, each time warming my spirit and filling my heart.
It’s a beautiful thing to know that you are loved – so much better to know than to simply feel. Feelings can be fleeting, deceitful, unpredictable, and inconstant. Knowing is steadfast, unchanging, and concrete.
Dear Sister, as wonderful a thing as it is to know that you are loved by someone you hold precious in this earthly life, at its best, it is imperfect. Because we are imperfect. Because life on earth is imperfect. Because the taint of sin has infected all of God’s beautiful creation, and so disease, death, disappointment, loss, betrayals, injustice, tragedy, and pain exist. And we, Daughters of God Almighty, find our lives touched – sometimes lightly, at times deeply – by sin’s hideous infection.
But in the midst of this imperfection, there is a perfect love that never fails. A love that is not touched by the taint of sin because it is not of this earth. It is a love that you can KNOW with certainty will never disappoint, deceive, or betray. It is a love that supersedes all other loves because its source is the Author of Love and IS Himself LOVE.
You nod your head and say, “of course, you’re talking about God, my Heavenly Father!” You acknowledge and agree to these and so many more claims about the love of God, but do you live like you KNOW deep in your heart that this love of God is yours? Or do your feelings lead you into times of doubt, questions, insecurity, uncertainty – times when you feel unloved?
Scripture is very clear in describing the love of God. That clarity is given so that you and I, redeemed Daughters of God, can live confident, peace- and joy-filled lives in the knowledge that we are His beloved.
KNOW This About God’s Steadfast Love:
- His steadfast love is merciful. “As for You, O LORD, You will not restrain Your mercy from me; Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness will ever preserve me!” Psalm 40:11
- His steadfast love is forgiving. “…A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to Your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.” Psalm 51:1 ESV
- His steadfast love is without limit. “For Your steadfast love is great to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds.” Psalm 57:10 ESV
- His steadfast love meets you in times of trouble and gives you victory. “My God in His steadfast love will meet me; God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.” Psalm 59:10
- His steadfast love is your fortress and refuge when you are in distress. “But I will sing of Your strength; I will sing aloud of Your steadfast love in the morning. For You have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to You, for You, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.” Psalm 59:16-17
- His steadfast love is better than life itself. “Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You.” Psalm 63:3
- His steadfast love is constant and because of it, He accepts my prayers. “Blessed be God, because He has not rejected my prayer or removed His steadfast love from me!” Psalm 66:20
- His steadfast love is faithful uniting righteousness and peace. “Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.” Psalm 85:10
- His steadfast love abounds in goodness and forgiveness to all who call upon Him. “For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon You.” Psalm 86:5
- His steadfast is merciful, grace, and slow to anger. “But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” Psalm 89:15
- His steadfast love satisfies and brings great joy. “Satisfy us in the morning with Your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” Psalm 90:14
- His steadfast love is enduring. “For the LORD is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100:5
- His steadfast love has no beginning, and it has no end. “But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children….” Psalm 103:17
- His steadfast love is abundant. “For their sake He remembered His covenant, and relented according to the abundance of His steadfast love.” Psalm 106:45
- His steadfast love is good. “But You, O GOD my Lord, deal on my behalf for Your name’s sake; because Your steadfast love is good, deliver me!” Psalm 109:21
- His steadfast love comforts. “Let Your steadfast love comfort me according to Your promise to your servant.” Psalm 119:76
- His steadfast love is life-giving. “In Your steadfast love give me life, that I may keep the testimonies of Your mouth. Psalm 119:88
- His steadfast love redeems. “O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with Him is plentiful redemption.” Psalm 130:7
- His steadfast love is a source of great hope. “But the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, and those who hope in His steadfast love.” Psalm147:11
The phrase “steadfast love,” used over 130 times in the Book of Psalms, expresses the unwavering, unchanging, fixed and firmly rooted love of God. It is reliable, unfailing, and wholly trustworthy. All the words that could be used to define God’s steadfast love could be appropriately used to describe the very nature of God.
A few more thoughts on the nature of God’s love:
His steadfast love will never forsake you. “‘For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but My steadfast love shall not depart from you, and My covenant of peace shall not be removed,’ says the LORD, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10
His steadfast love is unending and abundant, His mercies and compassion never fail. “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end…but, though He cause grief, He will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love….” Lamentations 3:22, 32
He loved us even though we were not worthy of His love. “…but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom 5:8
Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ Jesus. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? … nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35, 39
Dear Sister, KNOW with certainty that you are greatly loved. In Colossians 3:12, Paul calls you “God’s chosen one, holy and beloved.”
My mom’s words were a precious reminder of her love for me; they greatly comforted me as we walked through the dark days of her decline. Even more so, you should find immense comfort, hope, joy, peace, and so much more, KNOWING that you are loved by Elohim Ahavah, The God Who Loves.
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”
Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV)