Reminded of Gods great love

Genesis 1:26-27

English Standard Version (ESV)

 ²⁶Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
 ²⁷So God created man in his own image,
   in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.

Deuteronomy 7:6-10

English Standard Version (ESV)

 ⁶"For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. ⁷It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, ⁸but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ⁹Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, ¹⁰and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face.

Jeremiah 31:3

English Standard Version (ESV)

 ³the LORD appeared to him^[a] from far away.
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
   therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

Zephaniah 3:17

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁷ The LORD your God is in your midst,
    a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
   he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.

Psalm 136:1-26

English Standard Version (ESV)

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

 ¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
²Give thanks to the God of gods,
   for his steadfast love endures forever.
³Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁴to him who alone does great wonders,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁵to him who by understanding made the heavens,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁶to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁷to him who made the great lights,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁸the sun to rule over the day,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁹the moon and stars to rule over the night,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
 ¹⁰to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹¹and brought Israel out from among them,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹²with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹³to him who divided the Red Sea in two,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁴ and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁵but overthrew^[a] Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁶to him who led his people through the wilderness,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
 ¹⁷to him who struck down great kings,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁸and killed mighty kings,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁹Sihon, king of the Amorites,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
²⁰and Og, king of Bashan,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
²¹and gave their land as a heritage,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
²²a heritage to Israel his servant,
   for his steadfast love endures forever.
 ²³It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
²⁴and rescued us from our foes,
   for his steadfast love endures forever;
²⁵he who gives food to all flesh,
   for his steadfast love endures forever.
 ²⁶Give thanks to the God of heaven,
   for his steadfast love endures forever.

Dealing With Pain

A new week is here. Are you ready? Are you filled with enthusiasm and fresh courage? Don’t worry if you are not. If you’re dealing with pain or wandering in desert: It is all right. The main thing is to be authentic, to not deny your suffering. There are no quick fixes. But even when we are out of enthusiasm and fresh courage we are not out of mercy. Even when we are out of energy and clear guidance we are not out of hope.

I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, 
   the taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed.
I remember it all—oh, how well I remember— 
   the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there’s one other thing I remember, 
   and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:

God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, 
   his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning. 
   How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over). 
   He’s all I’ve got left.
God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, 
   to the woman who diligently seeks.
It’s a good thing to quietly hope, 
   quietly hope for help from God.
It’s a good thing when you’re young 
   to stick it out through the hard times.
(Lamentations 3:19-27, MSG, emphasis added)

When it’s our time to face some hard times we are to keep a firm grip on hope. I have experienced times in my life that everything else than God was taken away from me. But God was more than enough. God’s love does not run out. New mercy is created every morning. When storms race in our hearts and in our lives we are called to stick it out. We are called to wait passionately, seek diligently, and hope quietly. 

When life is heavy and hard to take, 
   go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions: 
   Wait for hope to appear.
Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face. 
   The “worst” is never the worst.
(Lamentations 3: 28-3o, MSG, emphasis added)

God will never leave us or forsake us. We can count on his love, his mercy, his grace. We can count on God being with us no matter what is going on in our lives. When life is heavy and hard to take we are counseled to take time to sit with God, bow in prayer, and wait for hope to appear. We are advised to not to run from trouble but take it full-face. We need to stick through it.

When we embrace suffering we encounter Christ in a new level. When we give even our troubles, hurts, and difficulties to God we encounter God’s love and grace in a new way. When we surrender to God, day after day, in storms and in sunshine, we encounter the presence of the Holy Spirit in surprising ways.

Asking questions and fretting over not receiving answers does no good to our souls. Rainer Maria Rilke has expressed this so eloquently in his Letter to a Young Poet: “…I would like to beg you dear Sir, as well as I can, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.”

There is indeed time for everything. In due time we will find the answers. In due time a new dawn will appear. In due time even hardships will pass. Meanwhile, trust God, keep a firm grip on hope. It’s going to be all right.

“I called out your name, O God, 
   called from the bottom of the pit.
You listened when I called out, ‘Don’t shut your ears! 
   Get me out of here! Save me!’
You came close when I called out. 
   You said, ‘It’s going to be all right.’
(Lamentations 3: 55-57, MSG)

Forgiven

I am fully forgiven and free from all shame and condemnation (Romans 8:1-2, Ephesians 1:7-8, 1 John 1:9).

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.  Romans 8:1-2

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. Ephesians 1:7-8

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

Led By The Spirit

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation— but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,  because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, Abba, Father.  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.  Now if we are children, then we are heirs— heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.  Romans 8:12-17

The Good Shepherd

The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognise a stranger’s voice.  John 10:2-5

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one can snatch them out of my hand.  John 10:27-28

Isn't it good to know we have a good Shepherd who laid His life down for us, to rescue and redeem us.  who knows us by name and calls us and cares for us. Isn't it good to know that the bible says we WILL hear His voice and recognize Him, that He is a God that speaks and draws near to us!

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;

therefore I will wait for him."

The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,

to the one who seeks him;

it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. Lam 3:22-26

Unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful" (1 Peter 3:3–5).