As I continue on in the Psalms, this morning I read Psalm 136. In it the psalmist commanded, “Give thanks to the Lord” (v1), “Give thanks to the God of gods” (v2), “Give thanks to the Lord of hosts” (v3), “Give thanks to the God of heaven” (v26). As the psalmist described the works of God in these 26 verses, the phrase “…His steadfast love endures forever” was repeated in each verse.
The Hebrew word for steadfast love is (ḥeseḏ), and it is described with three words. Goodness. Kindness. Faithfulness. Let’s look at those three words individually to see what we see about who God is.
GOODNESS is defined as the nutritious, flavorful, or beneficial part of something; favorable in character and/or tendency; true; effectual. As soon as I saw “nutritious, flavorful and beneficial”, my mind thought of “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). As I sat in this for a minute, I remembered something from my teen years (and yeah, I know that was a looooonnnngggg time ago– haha). We used to sing a song in youth group, taken from Psalm 19:7-10, that talked about the Word of God being “sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb” (v10). I am familiar with the health benefits of honey, but this morning as I remembered that song, “honeycomb” really grabbed my attention. So I did some research (surprised? No, I didn’t think so. haha).
I found that honeycomb can be chewed as gum, and that made me think of meditating (chewing) on the Word, We need to read the Word and then take its goodness with you, “chewing” on it throughout the day. Get all the goodness out of it that there is to get. Keep it close, allowing God to continue to teach you as you go about your day.
Another thing I learned was that honeycomb has what they call bee propolis which has anti-fungal, antiviral and antibacterial properties. Taking the truth that God taught you in your reading and “chewing” on it throughout your day will nourish your soul and keep you spiritually healthy. Plus, if you’re “chewing” on the Word, you won’t be swallowing the “junk food” this world has to offer.
KINDNESS is defined as favor; of a helpful and sympathetic nature, of a kind to give pleasure and/or relief. Sit in that for a minute. Allow the Spirit to bring to memory times that you have experienced God’s help and comfort during a trying time.
As I sit here, the Spirit brought to mind how God delighted my soul this morning. I get such pleasure by seeing His creation, and this morning God brought a young doe into the yard. As I enjoyed her beauty and grace, the Spirit brought to mind “as the deer pants for the water, so my soul pants after You”, (Psalm 42:1). That became my prayer to the Lord as I waited for my coffee to brew. He was kind to provide the pleasure of observing that deer eating her breakfast, but He also displayed His kindness by getting my heart in the right posture to open and study His Word. I just love Him SO MUCH!!!
FAITHFULNESS is defined as steadfast in affection or allegiance; firm in adherence to promises or in duties; true to the facts, to a standard, to the original. God IS the original!! He is I am! He has no beginning and will have no ending. He “is” before time. “He will never leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). His Word says, “No one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28-29). Absolutely nothing is able to separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39).
God is good. He is kind. He is faithful. FOREVER…from eternity past (which makes my head hurt when I try to grasp the vastness of that) to eternity future.
GOD’S STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOREVER!