THE STEADFAST LOVE OF THE LORD

IN THE DAYS OF HIS POWER SERIES.

TOPIC: THE STEADFAST LOVE OF THE LORD NEVER CEASES

COMPILED/EDITED BY:- Rev Innocent Peace-Udochukwu
President Living Fountain Ministries Int’l LIFOM.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.
Lamentations 3:22-24

This remarkable cry of trust in God’s steadfast love comes almost exactly halfway through Jeremiah’s lamentations over the destruction of Jerusalem by the army of Babylon in 586 BC (see 2 Kings 24:10-25:21). The whole cry of trust, of which—in the interests of space—I’ve quoted only the first two and final paragraphs, ends in v. 33, which is not only the central verse of the central chapter, but the central verse of the whole book.

“For the Lord will not
cast off forever,
but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
for he does not afflict from his heart
or grieve the children of men.”
Lamentations 3:33-34

Jeremiah’s cry of faith thus lies at the very heart of his extended cry of anguish over the devastation that surrounds him.
Jeremiah’s situation, while not global, was on a local scale far worse than anything we now face with COVID-19, FULANI HERDSMEN TERRORISTS, BOKOHARAM and every other frightening circumstances and occurences,
Jerusalem was in ruins, its people taken in captivity to Babylon, and there were few rational grounds for hope. And, yet he was able to say, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” His faith was not based on the circumstances that surrounded him. It wasn’t based on God giving Jeremiah everything (or even much at all) that he wanted in the way of physical comfort, security, well-being, or even good friends. He was very much alone. His faith was based instead on what the Spirit, the word of God, and his long personal relationship with God had taught him about God’s steadfast love, ever fresh mercies, and great faithfulness.

Frightening as COVID-19 may be, we are still so much better off than Jeremiah was. Not only are our physical circumstances preferable, but we live this side of God’s full revelation of himself in Christ. We know God to be the one who was willing to become human, one of us, our brother, and to die for us on the cross, thereby reassuring us that God’s love and mercy override and remove any condemnation that we might otherwise have faced for our sin. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). God has shown his steadfast love to us in ways that even Jeremiah could not fully understand.

But praise God, his love for me is steadfast.

We don’t often use that word. Probably because so few things in our lives are actually steadfast. It seems that everything around is changing, shifting, and morphing. Even in our most intimate relationships, we don’t experience truly unbreakable steadfast love.

But Scripture says that God’s love for us is 100% steadfast, and that should spur us to deep, profound rejoicing.

The Steadfast Love of The Lord Never Ceases
Lamentations 3:22-23 says:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

When it says that the Lord’s love is steadfast, it means that it doesn’t waver in intensity. He fully, 100% loves us all the time. There is never a moment when God’s love for us is not at 100% intensity.

Ponder that glorious truth for a moment. At every moment, God loves you at max capacity. He cannot love you any more than he loves you at this minute. Because you are in Christ, God loves you with the same intense, overwhelming love that he has for his own son.

Yes, you sin. Yes, you screw up. But that doesn’t lessen God’s steadfast love for you.

Psalm 103:11 gives a sweet picture of how the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases:

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him.

Doesn’t that fill you with such joy and freedom? Does this feel too good to be true? If so, it means you’re starting to grasp just how high and wide and deep God’s love is.

And it gets better.

God’s steadfast love never ceases. In other words, God will never stop loving you with all his heart. For all eternity, he will be lavishing his glorious, breathtaking love on you.

It’s truly amazing, isn’t it? The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.

The Mercies Of The Lord Never End
Not only does the steadfast love of the Lord never cease, but his mercies also never come to an end.

The word “never” is so sweet and precious. It’s such a sweeping, all-encompassing word.

Even the most rugged, seemingly indestructible things come to an end. Great mountain peaks are slowly eroded to nothing. Powerful nations slowly fall into ruin. The greatest leaders grow old and die.

Even the world itself will eventually come to an end when Christ returns.

But get this…

You will never come to the end of God’s mercies. They are so high and wide and deep that you can’t ever reach the end. He is absolutely abounding in mercy, constantly pouring it out on you.

Speaking of the unending mercies of God, Charles Spurgeon says:

God’s mercy is so great that you may sooner drain the sea of its water, or deprive the sun of its light, or make space too narrow, than diminish the great mercy of God.

Are you going through painful, heartbreaking trials? His mercies never come to an end.

Have you sinned against God and are heavily burdened by guilt? Run to the One whose mercy knows no bounds.

Are you feeling spiritually dry and burned out? Return to God and he will give you new mercies for today.

Great Is His Faithfulness
After declaring the boundless love and endless mercies of God, the passage climaxes by declaring God’s great faithfulness.

And really, what other conclusion could you come to?

If the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases and his mercies never come to an end, then surely God must be infinitely faithful to his people.

What a heart-stirring reality.

God is infinitely faithful to you. He will keep you, sustain you, and uphold you. He will finish the work he began in you. Though you are faithless, God is faithful.

When you walk through the Valley of Death, your Good Shepherd will watch over you.

Through trials and struggles, backaches and tumors, depression and cancer, God is absolutely faithful.

This I Call To Mind, The Steadfast Love Of The Lord Never Ceases
The verse immediately preceding the one referenced above states:

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.

How do you create hope in your life? By calling to mind the steadfast love of the Lord. In other words, it’s not enough to simply know that God is faithful. You need to constantly call to mind that the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.

You need to regularly remember that his mercies never come to an end.

When you constantly recall the faithfulness of God, you have hope. Joy. The peace that passes understanding.

God is faithful. Take heart.

SHALOM !

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