God of unfailing love
Psa
13:5 But
I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
We
live in a world of disappointments and of rejection. Because of the
sinfulness of mankind, we experience rejection, of being let-down,
of people failing us or not living up to expectation. A partner makes
professions of love and then years or even months later, deserts us.
We've learnt that you cannot trust people!
That's
why David's declaration of trust is so helpful. He has come to a place
in life where he has learned to trust the Lord, i.e. the Lord can
be relied upon. You remember when David arrived at the army camp,
facing the Philistines, especially a giant named Goliath. Eventually
he gets to see King Saul and is able to say, “The
LORD
who delivered me from the paw of the
lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this
Philistine." (1
Sam 17:37). He knew that he had experienced God's enabling in the
past and that could be relied upon for the present. So too, in this
present psalm, he is able to have this confident assurance (trust)
that God will always be there for him.
But
this trust has a focus, for it is trust in God's love. Possibly we
take God's love for granted, so perhaps we should pause over it. John
told us that “God IS love” (1
Jn 4:8) so that everything about God is love, His words, His thoughts
and His actions. Everything that comes from God, every expression
of God IS love, and in case you're not sure what love is (because
someone professed it and it didn't come to fulfillment), it is a benign,
strong commitment and regard for another. It's not just a mushy feeling.
God's love is a much stronger thing than that.
It
is first a commitment. That is why Moses was able to say, “Know
therefore that the LORD
your God is God; he is the faithful God,
keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who
love him and keep his commands.”
(Deut 7:9). Note there, a “covenant
of love”. To help them appreciate it and trust it, God declares
to this early people of His, that He covenants, or promises them,
this love. It's a lasting or ongoing thing. But it's not merely a
commitment to be around for you, it's a commitment of good for you.
Love “is ever ready
to believe the best of every person”
(Amp. 1 Cor 13:7). Moreover, love means that God is for us (Rom 8:31),
everything He does is for our well-being, and that means all the time!
Which
brings us to David's description of this love: it is unfailing. If
something is unfailing it means it is going on and on and can be relied
upon. God will never withdraw His love because it is a natural part
of Him Himself. Unlike the unfaithful partner, God will never leave
you or forsake you, and because His very Being is love, you will always
know His love. Now we do need to recognize that we can turn away from
God and if we do that we will not be recipients of His love (Deut
7:12), but that isn't because He wishes to remove His love from you,
it's simply because you moved away from Him and He is love, and so
you turned your back on love. As soon as you turn back to Him you
encounter love again, because He is love. He is utterly unchanging
and therefore whenever you encounter Him, you encounter love. David
knew that when he encountered God, he encountered love and that love
always brought salvation – which is simply God's rescuing process
in whatever situation! Isn't that wonderful! Rejoice in it!
Response:
Thank the Lord today for the wonder of His love that is always
there for you whenever you turn to Him, His utter goodness available
for you!