The Lovingkindness of God

The last couple of weeks I’ve been meditating on the “LOVINGKINDNESS” of the Lord. Dozens of times in the Scripture the word lovingkindness is used to describe God, His character, and nature. During the Temple reconstruction project led by Nehemiah, the scribe Ezra read the Law to the people. As they heard the words of the Law, they realized they had repeatedly rebelled against God. The people joined for a time of confession for the nation’s transgressions. The leaders of the Levite priests led the confession. “You alone are the Lord. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship you.” The Levites continued confessing their repeated rebellion against God. Eventually the Levites acknowledged the lovingkindness of the Lord. “You are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them…” Nehemiah 9:17 (NLT) God had every reason to abandon the rebellious and disobedient people, but because HE IS LOVINGKINDNESS, He could not and would not abandon them. Lovingkindness includes forgiveness, grace, mercy, slow anger, and rich unfailing Love. The Hebrew word “chesed” means giving oneself fully, with love and compassion. Faithfulness, unfailing love, mercy, or good favor are often used in newer translations of the Scriptures instead of lovingkindness. Lovingkindness, faithfulness, unfailing love, mercy, and good favor are not how God chooses to act. They describe who God is. You can trust God because HE IS lovingkindness, faithfulness, unfailing love, mercy, and good favor. God is different from us. We can choose to show lovingkindness or not. We often respond based on our emotions, moods, and attitude, and that response often falls far short of faithfulness, unfailing love, mercy, and good favor. God cannot think, feel, or act contrary to His character. Whenever something seems less than loving, kind or lovingkindness, it is because we can’t see what He sees. I encourage you to spend some time meditating on God’s faithfulness, unfailing love, mercy, and good favor. It’ll without a doubt strengthen you.