"Oh, God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
My whole body longs for you
In this parched and weary land
Where there is no water.
I have seen you in your sanctuary
And gazed upon your power and glory.
Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
How I praise you!" ~Psalm 63: 1-3
Hold on…WHAT?
Your unfailing love is better than life itself!!!!
That is a pretty bold statement. As I read it this morning I wondered—do I really believe that? First of all, it is incredible to even try to comprehend that the Lord’s love is unfailing. My human mind struggles to comprehend what is meant by unfailing…never ending, 100% reliable, fool proof, perfect…love.
On top of that, this love is better than life itself! It really sounds great; it sounds like something I would hear in a sermon and agree with but would have a hard time taking to heart because it is so abstract. But STOP…
God’s unfailing love for you is better than life itself.
That sounds impossible. The only way I could even begin to believe that God's love were better than money, fame, a new car, a big house with a white fence, a good paying, high status joba would be to see proof of the Lord’s love for me evidenced in my own life. Nothing and no one else could try and convince me that it were true.
In light of Advent and Christmas, I have been reflecting on the last 22 years of my life—looking closely for God’s presence in events, transitions, relationships and seasons of my life. It really is insane to look back and see His faithfulness: how He has answered prayers I thought had gone unheard, how He has continued to shower blessings upon me even when I take advantage of them time after time, how He always works out troubled, sorrowful, and frustrating times for the best.
This all got me thinking…what does it look like for God’s unfailing love to be better than life?
Really it all comes down to the fact that God loved me and you enough to come down from His throne on high, to give up all His godly rights and powers, to become a baby born in a stall with smelly sheep and cows, and to get so close to His creation that He could experience the same joys, sorrows, and temptations that they experience daily.
That is a lot of love. And it is hard to understand. Every day I have to remind myself about this love. All the blessings, all the relationships, all the experiences I have in life are an out flowing of that love He first had for me. And if it weren’t for that love there would be no life, at least no real life worth living.
His love is so much greater than life.
In what ways do you see God's unfailing love in your life?
