Held by Everlasting Love
God’s everlasting love wraps around us like a covering that never fails, shielding us even in life’s coldest winds.
Devotional Credit: Immeasurably More by Ray Stedman
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Ray Stedman draws us into the mystery of God’s everlasting love, a love that stretches beyond time itself. Jeremiah’s words remind us that even when discipline comes, it flows from the heart of a Father who cannot forget His children. He may speak firmly, but His heart always yearns with compassion. This is not a love that flickers or fades. It is everlasting, a word that carries more than mere duration. It speaks of something greater than we can measure, a love that existed before time and will remain when time itself is no more.
Stedman helps us see that “everlasting” is a word that humbles the mind. Think back as far as history reaches, and you will still not reach its beginning. Think forward into eternity, and you will quickly come to the limit of what your imagination can hold. Yet God’s love continues beyond that point, stretching past the vanishing point of both past and future. It is wider, longer, higher, and deeper than anything we can grasp. That is what Paul meant when he prayed that believers would know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.
This everlasting love does not insulate us from pain. Instead, it works through pain to shape us into who God has designed us to be. Stedman acknowledges that life brings the consequences of sin, both ours and others’, but he insists that even in these moments God’s love is at work. His love takes what wounds and transforms it into what refines. It is not meant to destroy us, but to soften us, open us, and make us more responsive to Him.
The beauty of everlasting love is that it never lets us miss out on what God has planned. Even the very things we wish to escape are woven into His design of kindness. He says, I have drawn you with unfailing love. That is His promise: no circumstance, no failure, no history of sin, can pull us outside the reach of His mysterious, eternal love.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
My child, My love for you has no beginning and no end. It is everlasting, stretching beyond the boundaries of what you can imagine. You may measure days and years, but My love cannot be measured. It surpasses knowledge. You are rooted and grounded in it, and nothing will ever uproot you.
When pain comes, do not believe it is proof of My absence. Even in hardship My compassion is steady. I allow difficulties not to damage you but to shape you, to refine and soften you so that the life of Jesus may be more clearly seen in you. I am not indifferent to your sorrow. My heart yearns for you with great compassion, even when I must correct you.
Do not fear missing out, for My unfailing kindness draws you exactly where you need to be. You are not at the mercy of the past or chained to the choices of others. My love is greater than those things. I am working all things according to My purpose, and My plan is to conform you to the image of My Son. In Him you are secure, in Him you are beloved, and in Him you will find that My love never ends.
Scripture References: Jeremiah 31:3, Jeremiah 31:20, Ephesians 3:17-19, Romans 5:5, Romans 8:28-39, John 17:23, Psalm 136:1, Isaiah 54:10, Romans 6:6-11, Galatians 2:20, 1 John 3:1.
Real-Life Analogy
Imagine putting on a favorite coat in the dead of winter. The cold wind cuts around you, but the coat wraps you completely, holding in warmth that shields you from the bite of the air. The weather does not change, but within that covering you are safe. God’s everlasting love is like that. The harsh realities of life may press against you, but His love holds you fast.
Today, when I encounter a difficult word, a disappointing circumstance, or a painful memory, I can rest and say, “Lord, I trust You to cover me with Your love and live through me in this moment.” That truth steadies me, reminding me that nothing can strip away the warmth of His everlasting love.
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, I thank You that Your love has no beginning and no end. You have drawn me with unfailing kindness and held me in compassion. I rejoice that even in pain, I am not abandoned, for Your love is working to shape me into the likeness of Jesus. I rest today in the security of everlasting love, confident that nothing can separate me from You.