Tag Archives: Psalm 36:5

Sunday Respite | Surprised by God

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Psalm 36 5

I am glad that there is no mystery with God. He is never caught off guard. He is never surprised by the events that happen in the world…in my life and in the lives of my family. In an instant we are cast in a life-changing event, unsure of what tomorrow will be like. What we can be sure of is that we are secure in God’s love, a steadfast love that is deep and wide as the heavens span infinity. God is forever faithful to us.

You’re such an outrageously generous God. Your kindness and love appeared to me out of nowhere—like a helicopter of hope, rescuing me from a hopeless existence; like a geyser of grace in the middle of an arid desert; actually, more like a resurrection to life from the tomb of my sin and death. So great is the gospel, so stunning your sovereign love. ―Scotty Smith

Emmanuel, the God who is with us, walks alongside anyone willing to reach out with simple faith, to comfort, heal, redeem, and restore, often quietly, sometimes slowly, but always faithfully, until we pause just long enough to recognize something so amazing, so counter-intuitive, so stunning, so surprising: his mercy, favor, goodwill, even joy, for a weary, waiting world. —Stephan Bauman

Psalm 36 5-2

“Jesus loves me more-ther and I’m more alrighter than the sky is blue”

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I like it when my husband says to me, “I love you.”  When we were newlyweds, I frequently asked him, “How much do you love me?”  I still ask him that question and 39 years later, he answers me the same way, “I love you eleventy-times-seven.”   And then I always ask another question, “How much is eleventy-times-seven?” And his answer to that question has always been one word, “More.” There is no number that can measure his love for me.

I get it! I am loved. My husband will always love me more. But even as grand as the word ‘more’ is, it can never totally satisfy the love that I need. There is only one perfect love and only one love that is more than enough and that is God’s love for me. I will never comprehend the true meaning of love until I come to understand that love is the very essence of God, because, God is love.

My family has experienced a lot of change and some unrest recently with moving to a new city and home. Everything is new such as a new state, a new community, new friends, a new church, a new job. During this transition, I would often say a prayer asking God to overwhelm us with his love. The one thing I wanted my family to experience–to rest in, to be sure of in the midst of complex change and uncertainty is this:

God loves us more…and his love is enough. Be amazed and in awe by the vastness of God’s love for you!

This week I remembered the profound answer of a young boy when his mother asked him, “How much does God love us?” And his answer will fill your heart with a smile and a laugh, “God loves us more-ther than the house is big; more-ther than the city is wide.”

Psalm 36:5 says: Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.

Let’s praise the Lord for his great love! God’s love is wider than any continent, longer than any road, higher than any mountain, and deeper than any ocean.

I am continually overwhelmed by the love of God. If you ask me if I’m alright, I’ll simply answer the way that little boy did when he was asked that question, “I’m doing very alright! I’m more alrighter than the sky is blue!”

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song

The Love of God | Frederick M. Lehman