Expect the Unexpected
If you’ve followed this blog for the past week, by now you have ventured to ask for God’s lovingkindnesses, and you’ve experienced them. You may, in fact, have noticed that God was showing you His loving favor all along, you just didn’t recognize it. You’ve heard from a long-lost friend, or someone unexpectedly told you they loved you, and it touched you because you know God put it in their heart. Maybe He helped you find something that was lost. You know what your lovingkindnesses were.
Now, why does God show lovingkindness—besides the fact that He promised He would? It’s because God is love, and love gives. His lovingkindnesses are His acts of love. When you think of how big, awesome and unfathomable God is, and God is love, how big, awesome and unfathomable must be His love. And it is. Remember, He so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. So it shouldn’t surprise us when we see Him act with love in our life and in the lives of those around us—saved and unsaved. God does not reserve His love for those who love and accept him. He causes the sun to rise on the good and the evil (Matt 5:45).
But those who know God through Jesus Christ know who to praise for those lovingkindnesses. It causes us to glorify Him. When we recognize His acts of love, it revives us and makes us want to know and serve Him more. Only we will say Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. (Ps. 63:3) And we will be bold and ask God Quicken (enliven) me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth. (Ps. 119:88)
So, remember that His lovingkindnesses are his acts of love that go along with His words of love that we find in the Bible. In fact, here are some of His words of love: Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. (Jer. 31:3) It’s His acts of love and His words of love that keep us from falling apart—or we would all be depressed all of the time, because we’d have no hope.
Now that we know what’s up, we can identify with this prayer of David: Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me. (Ps. 40:11) That’s God’s acts of love and His words of love. He loves us in deed and in truth.
Can you guess where I’m going with this idea tomorrow?