Never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love

In between reading stories about farm animals, mermaids and cats that can drive cars…I have been reading through the psalms recently and I have been particularly struck by the number of times I have come across the phrase “steadfast love”.

Here are a few verses:

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love” Ps 51:1
  

“The steadfast love of God endures all the day” Ps 52:1

“I trust in the steadfast love of the Lord forever and ever” Ps 52:8

“God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!” Ps 57:3

“My God, in his steadfast, love will meet me” Ps 59:10

“Steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord” Ps 62:12

“Your steadfast love is better than life” Ps 63:3

So in my usual pedantic manner I thought it best to look up the definition of steadfast to try and figure out why it’s used to many times

“Fixed in intensity, unwavering and determined in purpose, loyal, constant and unswerving” thanks Mr. Online Dictionary...crikey.

God’s love is fixed in intensity:

I guess it is! God’s been in a perfect and loving relationship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit since before the world began.  His love is fixed on them intensely and passionately.  And there was so much intense love in the beginning that it couldn’t be contained just within the trinity so it burst out into creation and overflowed into our world and into its people.  God loves me intensely, he loves the lady intensely.  This intense love is all consuming and God doesn’t want to see us exist outside of his love hence why he sent Jesus to draw us near and make us able to experience his incredible and intense love.

God’s love is unwavering and determined in purpose:

God’s love for the trinity, for his world, for me and the baby lady will never ever change and it is determined to see me rescued from my selfish, sinful ways and make me more like Christ, so I am able to experience the steadfast love of God more fully.  It is determined that all people should have a chance to hear about this love and respond to it in kind and I will do my best to make sure the lady has every chance, I think that’s why God has given her to me.

God’s love is loyal:

God is incapable of lying and of betrayal.  It’s not in his nature-thank goodness!  This makes him utterly trustworthy as Psalm 52:8 has already commented on.  When I have told non-Christians “God loves you” I am not surprised that more than half the time I witness a half hearted, almost cynical response.  I think it’s because people think that God’s love is like human love. In a world full of broken families and hurtful relationships trying to have a relationship with God sounds like risky business; “What if he doesn’t really love me? What if he lets me down and hurts me? What if he betrays me?”  NOT POSSIBLE.  God’s love is 100% loyal and utterly trustworthy so we have no need to fear.

God’s love is constant and unswerving:

The Jesus Story Book describes it as “Never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love”.  Which is brilliant! God's love for me and the Lady will never stop. But admittedly being this loved is a  little exhausting.  Believing in God and trying to live in the light of this incredible love is hard work.  It’s hard work to trust it all the time.  It’s hard work to let it take deep roots in my lazy heart. It’s hard work to let it impact and change the way I am a mother and a wife.  It’s hard work in comparison to the easy job of being sinful and not having to change...

WOW! 

Who knew there was so much to the phrase "steadfast love"! 

I'd love to know what you think about the phrase "steadfast love". 

What does it mean to you and for you?  

How have you experienced God's steadfast love in your life?