His Love Endures Forever
Psalm 136:1 New International Version
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.
When we take time to simply meditate upon the truth of scripture it is life changing. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever. The love of God is unconditional. He loves us regardless of our behavior or our performance. Because He loves us He disciplines us. Because He loves us He brings correction. Because He loves us He is far more patient with us than we understanding.
Having a right understanding of who God is and His love for us is paramount for us living rightly as a Christian. If for one moment I believe that His love is conditional or somehow His love changes based on my behavior or performance, my journey with God can become incredible demanding and any joy that I am have will be drained away.
Satan is always trying to fill our hearts with deceptions and lies. One of the greatest ways He does this is by attacking the character and nature of God. Satan is the accuser and he will speak false accusations about God into the hearts of people. But if we are to truly have a write understanding of who God is, it is directly connected with having a right understanding of His word.
God has given us His word to communicate and reveal to us His character and nature. The more time we spend in scripture, the greater we come to understand God. As our understanding of God deepens and the word of God gets deep in our hearts, it begins to transform us by the power and leading of the Holy Spirit.
Understanding that His love endures forever means that even if I fail miserably and fall short, He still loves me. Even if I walk away for a period of time, He doesn't stop pursuing me. Israel's history and God's dealing with them is a picture of the grace of God. Israel's history is one that is filled with continual rebellion. But God never abandoned or forsook Israel. God did indeed discipline them because He loved them, but He never abandoned them. He never stopped providing, He never stopped watching over them.
We can be thankful today because of God's love for us. Our focus should never be our love for Him, but it should always be His love for us. When we truly understand how much He loves us we will desire to simply live for Him knowing that in everything He has good and perfect things planned. Even in the hard things God is always working it together for our good.
Prayer
Father I come to you today and thank you for your love. I thank you that you never abandon me, never give up on me, never forsake me, and never leave me. You are always with me. You provided every need. Father I thank you that your love is unconditional. Help me to understand your love and help me to understand you. Help me to love others as you love me. I pray that my life would be marked by your love. In the name of Jesus, Amen!