Enduring Love

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10

2014 was a year of transition for me. Going from full-time ministry to sitting “on the bench” as I underwent a successful 42 week of chemo treatment for hepatitis c. Life was seemingly in an upheaval…. like a man who had lost his best friend, I whined, “Doesn’t anything ever stay the same? Isn’t there one thing I can count on being the same tomorrow as it is today!”

Then I heard that gentle whisper I’ve grown to love, “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you” (Isaiah 54:10).

Yes, there is one thing that will never change, God’s unfailing love for His children. The word compassion in Isaiah 54:10 is the Hebrew word racham, which means “to soothe; to cherish; to love deeply like parents; to be compassionate, be tender…This verb usually refers to a strong love which is rooted in some kind of natural bond, often from a superior one to an inferior. (Now here’s the best part.) Small babies evoke this feeling.”

When a child comes into the world, a love is birthed in ones heart that you would never think possible. Elizabeth Stone said it well: “To make a decision to have a child, it’s momentous. It is to decide to have your heart go walking around outside of your body for the rest of your life.” That is how our Heavenly Father feels about His children!

The beautiful Hebrew word, hesed, is translated unfailing love in Isaiah 54:10. It is often translated loving-kindness, steadfast love, grace, mercy, faithfulness, goodness, and devotion. This word is used 240 times in the Old Testament and is considered one of the most important in the vocabulary of the Old Testament. Why? Because God’s unfailing love is one of the most important themes of the entire Bible. It is who He is and what He does (I John 4:8). “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (I John 3:1). To lavish is to give freely, profusely, extravagantly, and abundantly.

In Psalm 136, after each sentence, there is an echo, “His love endures forever.” David begins by reminding us that God created the world, lead the captives out of Egypt through the desert, and conquered the enemies of the Israelites so they could move into the Promised Land. While He works in many varied ways and with many different people, one thing remains the same – “His love endures forever!”

Paul echoes David’s words in his letter to the Romans. “For I a convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38).
“His love endures forever!”