THE STEADFAST LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS
OF THE LORD
What
do we know about God? What comes to mind when we think of God and who he is? So
many things, so many characteristics, so many actions. Yet two characteristics
of God that continually come to my mind are his steadfast love and his faithfulness.
A few translations of the Bible use
steadfast love where other translations use the following words: mercy,
lovingkindness, faithful love, grace, promise, or loyal love. Most translations
of the Bible use the word faithfulness
but a few translations use these words: loyalty, truth, trust, goodness and
truth. While these other translations express beautiful facets of the diamond
of God’s character, I appreciate the words steadfast
love and faithfulness. We find
the thread of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness woven throughout the Bible.
His steadfast love and his faithfulness go together, hand in hand.
What
does steadfast mean? Steadfast refers to “unwavering, firm, or directed”. What
does real love mean? Love seeks the highest good of another person. God
unwaveringly and firmly directs his love toward his people for their good and
his glory.
What
does faithfulness mean when attributed to God? Faithfulness refers to being true to one’s word or promises. God is
the only one who completely and perfectly keeps his promises. None of his
promises or words have ever failed. God’s character is true; therefore, he is
completely faithful.
His
steadfast love and faithfulness define him and his purpose for his own people. When
Moses asked God to show him his glory, “The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there,
and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful
and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and
faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for
thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will
by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation’” (Exodus 34:5-7). When
the prophet Jeremiah lamented that God seemed to have afflicted and forsaken
him, he responded with “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to
an end; they are new every morning great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:21-23). We see both God’s steadfast love
and faithfulness in these verses that describe who God is.
When I remind myself of God’s steadfast love and
faithfulness, I have hope. No matter what challenges I face in life, I remember
his steadfast love and faithfulness. I can trust God because of who he is and
what he does. Who else commits unwavering love to his own? Who else has completely
and perfectly kept his promises? God abounds in steadfast love and
faithfulness.
No comments:
Post a Comment