(pronounced yeh-ho-vaw' kheh'-sed)
THE LORD IS MY STEADFAST LOVE
He is my Steadfast Love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer. He is my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.
Everything about this verse concerns warfare, especially spiritual warfare, so it seems unusual for the psalmist to write here about God being our Steadfast Love, doesn't it?
*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 2617
Steadfast Love: goodness, kindness; lovingkindess, great mercy
While checed can be used to describe others' actions toward us, here it speaks of Who God Is to those who take refuge in Him, who are sheltered by Him in times of trouble, trial and tribulation.
Goodness
Exodus 34:6, 7
And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, "The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
Kindness
Nehemiah 9:17
And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that Thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but Thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.
Lovingkindness
Psalm 63:3
Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee.
Great Mercy
Micah 7:18-20
(18) Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy.
(19) He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
(20) You will perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which You have sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
Dear God,
You are my Steadfast Love. When I repent, You forgive me. When I seek Your face, You show mercy to me, though I do not deserve it. When I turn back to You, You turn Your face to me; You love me in spite of myself.
This day You are my God. I choose You above all else. You are the God who forgives, who shows compassion to all who seek to know You, and to have a closer relationship with You.
Lord God, You are a generous God, loving all people everywhere. Thank You for loving me when I was in an unlovable state, when I was covered n the muck of sin and the mire of my transgressions against You. Thank You for saving me and covering me with Yourself, with Your blood.
Thank You, Lord, for being a whisper away; closer than a brother, You are a Friend who never leaves me, nor forsakes me. Help me to lead others to You that they, too, may know Your wonderful Love.
In Jesus' Name, I pray
Amen.
(pronounced ad-o-noy 'el-o-heem' )
LORD MY GOD
Psalm 86:12
I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify Your name forever.
When we say to God, You are our God, that's a collective congregational decision; a unified in spirit declaration.
But when we say to God, You are MY God, that's an individual personal decision; a cry, a whisper from the heart of 'I' to the heart of God.
2 Chronicles 2:4
Behold, I am about to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God to dedicate to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for displaying the showbread continuously, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening as well as on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts of the LORD our God. This is ordained for Israel forever.
Solomon was getting ready to build a temple for the LORD, an actual standing immovable temple. But as Christians, when we give our hearts to God, we are giving Him a place to dwell within us, a permanent place for Him to live: as long as we remain in His Word, His Word will remain in us. As a born-again Christian, I reiterate: I need to remain in His Word that His Word would remain in me.
Psalm 30:2
O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me.
When we need to be healed in every way, not just physically, but spiritually, we indeed seek God to heal us. For we know that He is the only Healer who can heal us from all diseases and ailments, for He created us. God heals broken bones, sore muscles, various diseases and sicknesses, allergies, mentally challenged people, aching hearts and removes sin from the sinner.
Doctors can put bones back together, but God does the restorative healing. Doctors can prescribe medicines, but God heals the body and mind. Nutritionists work with people to change their diets that their bodies would work more efficiently, but God is the ultimate Healer.
When the heart is overwhelmed by grief and trauma, God puts all our tears in His bottle (Psalm 56:8). God heals the brokenhearted and fills the cracks and breaks with His Love.
I am healed by the Grace of God and filled with the Love of God. My broken heart is strengthened in His Word and His Word thrives in me. There are no more tears to cry, though there are still sad times ahead.
Psalm 109:26,27
26. I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads.
27. Help me, O LORD my God; save me according to Your loving devotion.
When a Christian, a Christ-follower, suffers verbal abuse, many times we do cry out like David did. We cry for God to come and help us, for our ears cannot take it any longer. Our hearts are under attack and we begin to feel sorry for ourselves, when in fact, we must not let them get through our spiritual armor, but repel such darts of the enemy. Wouldn't it be nice if the evil words spat in our direction were to reverse direction and dart back to the speakers? But were that so, then the evil words that leave our lips when we are stressed or frustrated would then come back to us!
David cried out to God for God's salvation and deliverance. And though he did live to see it in his day, God answered David's cry through David's lineage. The Savior of the world would be born out of tribe of Judah (Hebrews 7:14; Revelation 5:5), of David's seed (Isaiah 11:1, 10; Romans 15:12).
I, too, have cried out to God to save me. He saved me from the first cry. He saved me from the situations in which I had placed myself. And He saved me from the clutches of death. God saved my soul and He lives in my heart. For God is the God of the whole world, of which I am but a small part, but God is the God of me, of 'I'.
God wants to be your personal God. He's calling you to be part of His family, a woven into His heart son or daughter, an intimate friend/servant in His kingdom.
As Joshua asked the people of Israel, in Joshua 24:15, "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
Is God your God?
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