love | Pedestrian God

Because of God’s Faithful Love

Jun 27 2018

In Psalm 6, David cries out to God for mercy. Actually, he’s begging for mercy. He’s crying out that he is weak, his bones are shaking, and his whole being is shaken with terror.

In verse four, he begs, “Turn, Lord! Rescue me; save me because of your faithful love.”

This cry is a strong reminder of David’s understanding of the Lord’s faithfulness. He doesn’t ask the Lord to rescue him so that he, David, could escape his pain and fear. He doesn’t ask for rescue because of how many tremendous battles victories he had won.

He asks for rescuing based solely on the fact that God’s love is faithful.

David knows that God would keep His promise. He also knows that he, David, is unworthy. There’s nothing that he had done or could promise to do that would change God’s plan.

We should approach God in prayer the same way. When we are in distress, we should turn to God – not to worldly comforts like food, entertainment, or relationships.

Don’t be afraid to cry out to God. Tell Him exactly how you feel. And say out loud that you trust that He will be true to His faithful love.

Seven Times a Day

Nov 08 2017

I praise You seven times a day for your righteous judgments.”
– Psalm 119:164

What do I do seven times a day? I’ve really been thinking about this question lately. Some days I eat six times a day. You know, like a hobbit! There’s breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and, of course, the mandatory sweet snack after successfully putting a child to bed!

I don’t mean to be impolite, but I probably use the restroom seven times a day. I’m not sure; I haven’t ever counted before.

I wash dishes once a day. If a dish is missed, I leave it for the next day! And, as much as I love my husband, I’m not even sure that I tell him “I love you” seven times a day.

On a typical day, I’m awake from 5:45-9:45. That’s 16 hours. 16 divided by 7 is 2.28 (*shout out to my calculator*) So if I were to act like the Psalmist, that means I would praise the Lord for His righteous judgment every 2.28 hours that I am awake.

When Love Wasn’t Loving

Oct 03 2017

That’s not love. That thought has been on repeat in my head ever since we accepted our first foster placement 11 months ago. How do you explain love – true love – agape love – to a child who has mostly only experienced selfish “love.” I can barely even bring myself to say “selfish love” because, if it’s selfish, is it really love?

So, here we are, trying to teach a person how to love. It’s hard. Because love, much like C.S. Lewis continually teaches, is a choice, not a feeling. I’ve been fortunate, I’ve never had to fight very hard for love. Kevin and I have had a fun-filled marriage and drama-free dating relationship. I love him easily every day. In fact, my love for him has grown over the past year. But when the Lord adds a person to your house, even temporarily, love is a choice. I have to choose love even when told I’m hated. Because, as the refrain in my head goes, most of the love that was shown to her wasn’t loving.

Expecting Nothing in Return

May 25 2017

It was camping day at school and all the kids were supposed to bring a flashlight. Our kid didn’t have one so I let her borrow mine. At the bus stop, I took a moment to explain to her the importance of taking care of someone else’s stuff when you are borrowing it. That means you have to bring it back exactly as it is. You cannot throw it around or draw on it. It’s not yours. And if it gets broken or lost, you have to replace it.

I gave that little speech in part because the concept of borrowing is hard to understand when you’re six. You think, it’s in my hand’s so it must be mine. I also chose this moment to teach this lesson because, well, to be real honest, I really liked that flashlight. It’s the perfect size to fit in my purse. It’s a beautiful blue color and it has LED lights. I wanted it returned to me in good shape. I was happy to lend it out, as long as I could be assured that it would return unharmed.

This past Sunday, our middle school girl’s class had a lesson on the topic, “Love Your Enemies.” The passage came from Luke 6:27-36.

And I must admit – I felt a good eye roll coming on as I sighed and thought, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Love your enemies. Got it.” It was as if the Devil wanted me to shut my mind down before approaching Scripture. This passage is extremely familiar to me so I felt my mind drifting as I read along…

God Only Gave

Nov 27 2016

Our six year old’s first memory verse for the Awana program at church was the first verse, to our knowledge, that she’s ever read.

For God so loved the world that He only gave His Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have an eternal life. John 3:16

That’s how she recited it to me for a week. It was so close to being accurate. Read it again if you just skimmed through it. What was her big mistake?

God only gave His Son! She had no idea why this placement of the word “only” changed the meaning so drastically. Because God didn’t just only give His Son. He gave His only Son!

The Lord of this universe sacrificed His dearly loved Son so that we would have a way back into a right relationship with Him! Now that’s love!

When I love, I don’t usually love perfectly. I love the way my child memorized the verse. I only give part of myself. I only do enough to be convincing some days. Rarely do I give up everything of myself.

Praise the Lord that His love shines brightly through the verse of John 3:16. It’s one that I am far too often tempted to skim over since I’m confident in my knowledge of it. But God used this moment last week to remind me that His word is still active and living. Even in a verse that I’ve known my entire life He is able to draw me closer to Himself.

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