“...For His steadfast love endures forever...” Psalm 136
Sisters in Christ,
In Psalm 136, the psalmist cries out praises and thanks to the Lord and declares His goodness displayed in His mighty works. Every single verse in this Psalm ends with “..for His steadfast love endures forever.” Forever. It’s not a conditional love, dependent on us or how good or prepared we are. It’s not temporary, fleeting, or weakened by the circumstances surrounding us. His love is steadfast and loyal. It endures without end, eternally, forever.
Last month we all faced the threat of an impending storm, Hurricane Douglas. He started off as a little heat and pressure over a balmy sea, and with some added speed and wind, he gradually grew into a category one hurricane barreling towards our islands. It’s strikingly similar to how other storms might come up in our lives - everything seems to be calm on the surface, but then subtle heat and increased pressures begin to form into menacing “storms”.
Whether we were prepared with our hurricane kits or running to get supplies the day the storm should have hit, there was no way any person could have stopped that hurricane from making landfall or destroying things in it’s path. In the face of physical or spiritual storms, we often find ourselves feeling out of control, anxious, or fearful. But God is aware of our fears, inability, and failures, and even still “His steadfast love endures forever”. In Romans 8:38 (NLT) we see that not even our own fears or worries can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus!
As we face storms, we have the chance to live by fear or to live by faith. We can have faith in the Lord who can calm the storm before it even hits, but let's remember that He is also the Lord that is with us in every part of the storm, bringing us through so we can see that “His steadfast love endures forever.” Seeing his faithful, enduring, steadfast love through those “hurricane” moments can, in turn, increase our faith in Him.
On Tuesday, August 25th at 6pm, we will be having a Hearts To Pray celebration dinner at Karen’s home. We invite you to come and fellowship together, celebrating God’s faithfulness to His people. If you have a word of encouragement or a testimony of how God has answered prayers through this ministry and our prayer warriors, we would love to hear from you. Let’s celebrate and share moments of how “His steadfast love endures forever”. Make sure to RSVP to Karen at sup.karen808@gmail.com in advance so we know how much steak dinner to prepare for.
Dear Sisters in Christ, let us remember that “His steadfast love endures forever”, and for that we can praise Him in every storm we meet. He is faithful! Let’s pray He will help us live in response to His steadfast love and share that love with those around us.
In His grace,
Jaime Angel