11 Endures…
The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever”
2 Chronicles 5:13
After consulting the people, Jehosophat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendour of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever”
2 Chronicles 20:21
The words “His love endures forever” appear 41 times in the Old Testament – 26 of these in Psalm 136. Mostly these references are associated with the people praising God and giving thanks to him for all the great things he has done for them. Today I want to focus on the word “endures” as the verb associated with love – love endures, God’s love endures.
The Oxford Dictionary has two definitions of the word endure:
- To suffer patiently
- To remain in existence, last
To endure implies effort and longevity. When we endure something, we suffer through it to gain what we can from it. We endure a long and sometimes boring concert because we know the finale will be spectacular. We endure years of study to gain the qualification at the end. We endure pain to find healing. I think one of the best examples of endurance is in giving birth. I have done this three times, and it is a long and often arduous journey of nine months followed by hours of pain and effort. But at the end there is a beautiful tiny miracle – the new baby held in my arms – the endurance is rewarded.
God’s love is an enduring love – he suffers us again and again. We can compare his love to that of a good and loving parent. Many times, I had to endure as the mother of those three beautiful sons I gave birth to and still do! As a parent I had to discipline, restore, teach, rescue, comfort. There have been times of pure joy and times of mourning. There have been times I just wanted to give up, walk away. But parenthood is forever and must endure through whatever comes throughout the lives of our children.
God is our heavenly Father, our loving and patient, enduring parent. Regardless of what we do or how we run from him he never ceases to love us just like the father of the Prodigal Son:
And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.
Luke 15:20-21
His love for us endures our whole lives – it is that big, that amazing. It is complete and unconditional. No matter what we say or do, it endures…
Prayer: Lord, my heart soars, my voice sings, “Give thanks to the Lord for your love endures forever”.
Amen
Action: Today ponder on the enduring love of God and respond to him in praise and thanks.
Journal your thoughts…
