Everything that the Lord our God deals with us is all because of His great love for us.  His love is His flow.  Nothing that He does in us, with us, for us and through us is apart from His Love, for He, Himself, is Love.  Ohh … the power of His love is awesomely beyond what we could ever dare think, dream or imagine and each day He issues us an invitation to partake of Who He is and what He has already prepared and made ready for us.

“How precious is Your steadfast love, O God!
    The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
They feast on the abundance of Your house,
    and You give them drink from the river of Your delights.
For with You is the fountain of life;
    in Your light do we see light.” (Psalm 36:7-9)

The very powerful act of God delivering His people from being slaves in Egypt for four hundred years, is all because of His love.  The description of Him taking ownership of His people is evidently articulated in the scriptures.  He addressed them as “My people”, a very possessive pronoun.  These two words used depict His tenderness, fondness and deep affection upon those He calls His own.

“The Lord said (to Moses), “I have indeed seen the misery of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring My people the Israelites out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:7-10)

God’s redemptive plan for His people had Moses in mind before the foundation of the world to be the man whom He will use, a man who stutters, slow of speech and tongue.  Yet, despite Moses’ shortcomings in his very own eyes, it mattered not.   What was more significant was who Moses was in the sight of God, for it is He Who chooses and uses to demonstrate and let the power of His love flow through.

As I was reading and meditating the story of the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt, I couldn’t help but see how the Lord our God is so full of love and compassion for His people.  But wait!  Since He is the same yesterday, today and forever, we, who are in Christ, are His own, His children, His sons and daughters, who are recipients of His great love also, with even better promises.

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1)

In 2 Chronicles 20, when Jehoshaphat was facing a great multitude in a battle, he was afraid.  He SET HIS FACE TO SEEK THE LORD and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So, Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord (2 Chronicles 20:1-4).

I love how Jehoshaphat came before the Lord in pure humility … “we are POWERLESS against this great horde that is coming against us.  WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO, BUT OUR EYES ARE ON YOU. (2 Chronicles 20:12 ESV)   Then, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel and he said in the midst of the assembly, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, “DO NOT BE AFRAID and DO NOT BE DISMAYED at the great horde, FOR THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS BUT GOD’S” (v.15)

“Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel.  You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”  (2 Chronicles 20:17)

Jehoshaphat appointed those who were TO SING TO THE LORD AND PRAISE HIM in holy attire, as they went before the army and say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His steadfast love endures forever.” (v.21)

WHEN THEY BEGAN TO SING AND PRAISE, THE LORD SET AN AMBUSH against their enemies.  Yes, their enemies fought against each other and helped to destroy one another.   Confusion came upon their enemies!   As God’s people approached the place of battle, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground and none has escaped.  All they did then was take the spoil for three days because it was just too much.  On the fourth day, they assembled and blessed the Lord.

On this account in the Bible, how interesting it is to know that when Jehoshaphat inquired of the Lord, he was told not to be afraid or be dismayed for the battle is the Lord’s. He was assured that God will be with them and will do battle for them. God coming to their aid and fighting on their behalf powerfully demonstrated how much of value they are to His eyes.

Jehoshaphat instructed to position the praisers first. He also commanded them to sing to the Lord and praise Him for the splendor of His holiness with specificity.  They did not just sing any lyric of a song.  They specifically uttered in one accord these words mandated to them, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His steadfast love endures forever.”  They knew that their mighty victory over their enemy was the substantiation and affirmation of God’s love for them. 

When we sing of His love, our attention and affection get focused on Him alone.  Our thoughts get filled with His goodness, His greatness, His mighty power, His unequalled willingness and ability to deliver us from whatever giant we are facing.  He gets significantly magnified that eventually causes us to see our mountains like molehills in the presence of the King of kings and Lord of lords.  The aroma of our worship cannot go unnoticed.  He responds to us in ways that is beyond our comprehension. Glory to God!

There are countless testimonies written in His Word.  They may not directly, readably or noticeably speak about God’s love for His people, but they are all rooted and founded in His love. 

When Jesus taught and preached the Word, opened the eyes of the blind, healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons, fed the multitudes, turned water into wine and an innumerable more miracles, signs and wonders, He conveyed God’s love and were received by faith that works through love.

When Jesus came, suffered and died at the cross, it was all because God is so rich in mercy and abounding in love.  Only by the power of the Blood of the Lamb shed at the cross can reconcile us into His presence, into His embrace.  We are saved by grace when we receive Him as our Lord and Savior through faith that works through love.  By this we become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus and new creations in Him, borne of His Spirit, one with Him.

As believers, the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5:5).  How powerful it is then to let God’s love flow in and through us each day?  May we learn to consistently recognize and acknowledge His love language and act promptly and accordingly.

There are multiple facets of His love toward us.  One of His expressions is to lead us in the way that we should go, for those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God whom He loves.

One day, I was in a parking lot of a mall.  As soon as I opened my car’s door, I sensed a strong prompting from deep within me that said, “put your phone in your bag”.  Huh!  I did not pay attention and dismissed those words.  Because I did not listen, as I was walking while texting, I literally stumbled because I didn’t see a step in the curve.  Thankfully, I was okay except for the bruises on my knees that surfaced later that day. 

What was my reaction when that happened?  I had a big smile on my face and uttered under my breath, “I’m so sorry, Lord, for not heeding Your voice. You were all the while guiding me to protect me. Thank You, for protecting me even if I dismissed Your directive.  It could have been worse.”  People around might have found odd to see me smiling while down on the ground, but my heart was full of joy knowing that from that moment on, I learned to hear Him speak.  Oh how He loves us by making known to us His ways.

On another occasion, I was praying for someone very dear to my heart who desired to apply and migrate to another country.  For a few days, in prayer, I was in agreement to her desire.  But, at one particular time, as I was making my declarations of favor toward her, something from deep within me said, “Stop!”   I have learned to recognize His voice and this time I paid full attention.  So, instead of declaring, hurtful it may be, I laid down my prayer before Him and said, “Lord, let Your will be done.  I surrender her into Your hands for You know what is best for her. I don’t.  I know that You know Your plans for her and that is to prosper her and never to harm her, to give her a hope and a beautiful future.  Thank You for leading me.” 

When the result of the application came out and it was unapproved, I was no longer surprised.  Instead, I encouraged her that the Lord’s will for her life is much more important than what we may think and plan to be the best.  Truly, His denial is not to be grieved or regretted. God knows the end from the beginning.  We are His workmanship, His masterpieces, and if we yield to The Potter’s Hand, surely and only the best is at hand because of His great love for us.  His love will never put us in jeopardy. His love will see our journey to an expected end in glory. Glory to God!

I pray that we may live our daily lives, our every step, with His love for us in mind.   When we know how much He loves us, fear gets thrown out of the window.  Ohhh how He desires to make known to us that when He sent Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior, the Best and Darling of Heaven, is all because He greatly loves us.  If only we know how it utterly delights Him to show us the daily loaded love benefits that He has in store for us in Christ, we would unceasingly praise Him.  He paid a steep price for an abundant life for each one of us and it is His utmost pleasure for us to joyfully partake in faith all that He has given and made available for us.

To this day, the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9).  He is looking for the ones who will believe and receive this unfathomable, unconditional love carried out by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when He came to redeem us. Oh how He desires for us to be filled and be flooded with Himself. He is searching for conduits of His love through whom He can delightfully express Himself. He is seeking for those who will be diffusers of the fragrance of this astounding love until the whole earth will smell like the aroma of heaven.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You, for always making known to us Your amazing love by withholding nothing from us, not even Your Begotten and Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. You willingly gave Him to us. Thank You, Jesus, for saying,”Yes”, to the Father. You came and gave Your life to us despite our unworthiness. For the joy that was set before You, You endured it all. You shed Your precious blood, cleansed us and made us worthy to be reconciled back to our Father’s embrace. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for opening our eyes to see the beauty of the finished work of Jesus Christ, assuring us that from now on, we are no longer spiritual orphans but beloved sons and daughters of the Most High God. Amen!

Photo Credits: Babette Arriola; NZ