Monday, August 22, 2011

Devotional--Love, Part I

Isaiah 43:1-7

  But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.

  Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
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  Now, I could obviously spend the rest of my days writing about God's love and I would not even have started to put a dent in the issue.  But it's worth starting somewhere--I think it's worth taking some time this morning simply to bask in God's love.  God loves you more than you can imagine--more than you can contemplate, more than you can ever hope to understand.  I believe that if we could fully understand God's love in this life it would render us unable to act, for all we would do is lie on our faces and bask in the fullness of God's love.

  God loves you.  Before you were born, God loves you.  In the midst of the worst sin of your life, God loves you.  In the darkest valley of the deepest pain of your life, God loves you.  On the highest mountain of your greatest joy, God loves you.  Today, right now, in this moment, God loves you with a love that surrounds you and holds you so fiercely it will never let you go.  No matter how great the storms of life are, they cannot pierce the protective veil of God's love.  They may hurt us, and the chaos of life may distract us, but God's love can never be pulled from us--the scripture doesn't say the fire won't hurt, only that it will not consume.

  Whatever is going on in your life today--God loves you, and will continue loving you forever.

Blessings

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