O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;  My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water.  Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.  Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You.  Psalm 63:1-3

As the sun warms my face, on a brisk, fall morning in the mountains of North Carolina, I read about God’s lovingkindness toward us.

David was in the wilderness when he penned the Psalm 63 and he compared his longing soul to dry, cracked soil. He was in desperate need of God’s presence, His Rivers of Living Water. (John 7:37-38)

I can relate to David’s desperate longings for God, but what catches my attention is the phrase “lovingkindness.”  David says it’s better than life itself.

Lovingkindness. What does it really mean? I’ve heard it said that if love is compared to a piece of freshly baked bread, slathered with butter. Lovingkindness is like adding strawberry preserves to what’s already succulently delicious.

The Hebrew word used here means goodness, faithfulness and kindness.

Jesus tells us God’s love for us is as great as the Father’s love for Him. (John 15:9) Paul uses words about God’s love for us which conger images of an ocean of love, beyond our understanding. (Ephesians 3:16-21)

When life is good, I can recognize God’s lovingkindness. However, in hard times, I don’t always feel loved, mostly because I don’t feel lovable.

Two situations come to mind.

• when I fail
• when I’m hurt.

When I Fail

I hate failing. I’ve had failures as a husband, as a father, as a son, as a brother, as an employee and an employer, as a friend, etc. Failure can cause me to feel unlovable. How can I be loved when I’ve performed so poorly?

As I write, the Holy Spirit reminds me:

I’ve been united with Christ in his death and resurrection. (Romans 6) I’ve been raised with Christ and seated with him in heavenly places. (Ephesians 2:6) In spite of my failures, I’m perfectly loved because my life is hidden with Christ (Colossians 3:3-4) Even though, in this temporal realm, I’m far from perfect, God loves me as much as He loves Jesus (John 15:9).

And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach. Colossians 1:21-22

In Christ, I’m holy, blameless and beyond reproach. When I see this, and believe it by faith, I begin to feel God’s lovingkindness, even in my failures. There are truths about me in Christ which can’t change because they are eternal.

When I’m Hurt

Another time I have a hard time embracing God’s lovingkindness for me is when I’ve been hurt. Being hurt can cause deep emotional pain, making me feel rejected and unlovable, even by God.

When I invite God into my pain, I do sense His presence and comfort.  I’m learning not to rely on the love of others for my value.

What helps is to realize the surpassing greatness of God’s love compared to even our dearest earthly relationships.  All human relationships must be secondary to our relationship with God. In fact, in Luke 14:26 Jesus says, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”

Compared to God’s great love, human love is like hate. God’s lovingkindness far exceeds all human affection. When I get a grasp of the expanse of His surpassing love for me, I’m filled with Joy, even in the most difficult human hurts.

More and more I seek love only from Him. This frees me up to love others for their sake, not for what I can get out of the relationship.

Better Than Life

God’s love overshadows everything about us. And when life is hardest, His lovingkindness shines even brighter. As a diamond sparkles against a dark background, God’s love is more brilliant in our darkest days.

Prayer: Lord, I rest in your love right now. I desire to walk in your love throughout the day. Even when I go through hard times, your love shines brighter and brighter. You are faithful. You are good. You are kind.

You love me.

Your lovingkindness is everlasting. (Psalm 136)

Your lovingkindness is better than life.

Please keep me aware of you and your love moment by moment.

Amen