Day 1
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for His lovingkindness is everlasting.
To Him who alone does great wonders,
for His lovingkindness is everlasting.
To Him who made the heavens with skill,
for His lovingkindness is everlasting.
To Him who spread out the earth above the waters,
for His lovingkindness is everlasting.
To Him who made the great lights,
for His lovingkindness is everlasting.
The sun to rule by day,
for His lovingkindness is everlasting.
The moon and stars to rule by night,
for His lovingkindness is everlasting.
(Psalm 136:2–9, NASB)
Do you ever wonder: “Who put the stars into place?” “Who made the sun, the moon and this earth we live on?” “Where did life come from?” “Who made me?” “Why am I here?”
Our answers to these types of questions are grounded in our foundational ideas about God. The God we believe in (or the view of no-God we hold) colors our perception of the world and profoundly affects our lives. We are like the deity or deities we hold in our mind. If we do not start in the right place—with God whose “lovingkindness is everlasting”—our answers to these questions will be distortions of the truth. And our lives will reflect those distortions.
Imagine yourself sitting down at a computer and beginning to write a story. But instead of your fingers being in the right place, suppose they are slightly off—one key to the left. From this wrong starting point, the whole story is nonsense. The first sentence reads, “Fis ua kicw.” What?
When we don’t start in the right place, we misunderstand the God of the universe and nothing makes sense. We may try desperately to make our lives work and be good people. Or we may give up trying to be good and hide our fears, hurts and disappointments behind distractions, addictions or hardened hearts.
Perhaps you believe in a collection of distant deities all needing to be appeased in various ways. Maybe you think of God as legalistic and strict, like a harsh judge eager to punish your disobedience. Perhaps you see God as holy and chronically dissatisfied with you because of your inability to measure up. Or maybe you have no idea of who God is or what He wants of you.
No wonder life doesn’t make sense. No wonder all our efforts to work our way back to God— through any number of different means—are fruitless. We’ve started at the wrong place, in “Fis ua kiew”—in a being or beings of our man-made, religious design.
But if you start in the right place—if you move your fingers to the proper place on the keyboard—the story makes sense. Your first sentence reads, “God is love.” God and love cannot be separated. Lovingkindness is the everlasting, unchanging nature of God.
Over and over again the psalmist repeats it—to ground us firmly in the understanding that the God of gods—the Lord of lords—is full of everlasting lovingkindness for His creation.
When you start with God and His everlasting lovingkindness, then creation, and your life as part of that creation, begins to become clear. God’s lovingkindness holds the secret to the why of the universe and the why of our existence. Creation itself flows out of the other-centered, self-giving love God shares.
From the beginning, God formed the universe with care and compassion. Out of His goodness, He created the heavens and the earth. He made the rocks and streams, the grass and trees, the fish and animals in lovingkindness.
And God didn’t just create the universe and then walk away. He didn’t just make you and then leave you to fend for yourself. He remains intimately involved and connected with His creation and with you.
Today God delights over you with care and compassion. You are a special and uniquely beautiful part of His creation. Out of His goodness, God made you be included in His everlasting lovingkindness.
Ponder for a Moment
What does lovingkindness mean to you?
Where in creation do you see evidence of lovingkindness?
Picture the wonder of a flower, a forest, a sunset, or the stars. How do you explain such beauty? How do you explain your appreciation of such exquisite design?