This is the song that never ends. It goes on and on, my friends. Some people started singing it… —Norman Martin
Some things seem to go on forever (and we wish they wouldn’t). Then there are things that do last forever—and we fear they won’t.
God’s love falls in the second category.
When Psalm 118 says, “God’s love endures forever,” this is not just a figure of speech, nor is it wishful thinking. This is a quality of God’s character explained in one beautiful Old Testament word: hesed.
Hesed tells the story of an unbreakable, unshakable bond between two parties. It is a love so deep that our language struggles to explain it. It is a covenant never retracted. Any offenses are covered by hesed mercy. It’s a love in which forgiveness is rooted and a love that has no end. If a wrong is committed against God, hesed swallows it up.
That’s the sort of endurance God’s love possesses.
That’s the sort of love God is.
Why then, since God is for me because He’s so in love with me, does He let me stumble on the dance floor? Why doesn’t He just keep temptation and sin and difficult circumstances at arm’s length—His arm’s length?
God’s love is not terminated when our feet get tripped up. In fact, like any good parent, God delights in watching His children learn the dance. Plus, there is always the hope that we’ll turn to Him when we stumble.
In fact, God is more concerned with intimacy than He is with fluency. With an ever-present God as a dance partner, when I stumble, it’s certain that I’ll fall into His arms. And this—this nearness and embrace—is the place He desires for His children.
Forever Father, Your hesed is new every morning… I’m grateful!