“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits” – Psalm 103:2 (NIV)
In a previous devotional, we learnt that God is the very definition of love and that His love and faithfulness are consistent and steadfast, thereby giving us hope and security. Do we really understand what this means? Is there anything that we (as believers) can do to make God love us more? Beloved, God’s love is unconditional (Romans 5:8-9).
God loves us all (John 3:16), and there is no disputing that. Persons who hate or do not believe in Him are still given air to breathe, marriages, families, jobs, and many other provisions. We are all given a chance. His love is not dependent on our actions or how we respond to Him but rather originates with His decision to love us unconditionally (Ephesians 2:4-5). There is, therefore, nothing that we can do to make God love us more than He does, and there is nothing we can do to make Him love us less. There is no possibility of us losing His love (Romans 8:35-39).
When it comes to God’s faithfulness, He will always do what He has said and fulfil every promise that He has made (2 Timothy 2:13). Man may waver, become distracted, and forget, but not God; He is dependable, and He always follows through. This fact is demonstrated repeatedly throughout the Scriptures. He promised Abraham a son, and this was fulfiled (Genesis 15:17-20). He promised Moses that He would use him to free the Hebrews from Egypt, and He did (Exodus 3:10; 12:31). He promised Elijah to feed him during the famine, and He fulfiled it (1 Kings 17:2-16). He promised a Saviour who would atone for sin once and for all, reconciling both Jews and Gentiles to Himself, and He fulfiled this through Jesus (Genesis 3:15, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20). God’s faithfulness is tied to His Word and is not dependent on whether we got what we asked for or not or whether He did what we wanted Him to do. Once it is written in His Word, God will perform it.
What, therefore, is our response to these things? One writer said that we live our lives each day with this image of God’s love and faithfulness, not being like a scale that fluctuates based on how good we did that day. We need to meditate on His love and faithfulness and see these attributes come to life daily in our own lives. It is only then that we will truly appreciate His steadfast commitment and the great example He has set for us. So, let us all endeavour to abide in His Word, submit to the Holy Spirit’s leading, and faithfully run the race marked out for us.
Read: Deuteronomy 7:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:24
Bible Reading Guide: Psalm 26; Mark 9:2-32; Exodus 39; Exodus 40
