Steadfast Love

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

In the ESV version of the Bible, the phrase "steadfast love" appears 191 times. In other versions you might encounter the phrases "lovingkindness," "unfailing love," or "mercy."

The Hebrew word found in this verse is "chesed" meaning

- zeal toward someone
- mercy toward those in misfortune
- to act kindly toward
- the grace and favor of God toward men
- constant or abiding mercy or favor

In English the word "steadfast" means

- firmly fixed in direction, place, or position
- firm in purpose, resolution, faith, or attachment
- unwavering adherence
- firmly established

The etymological origin of the English word "steadfast" came from the Sanskrit word "pastyam" meaning "dwelling place." It later evolved to "fæst" in Old English meaning "firmly fixed, steadfast, secure, enclosed."

In other words, God's love is zealous, unmerited, and firmly fixed. Nothing we do can alter or change it. I love the analogy of God's love being like a secure "dwelling place" that shields us from the elements.

When I think of a secure dwelling place, my friend's log house comes to mind. It was made from massive 10x10 inch hewn logs that ran 15-20 feet long. A deep 10 foot porch wrapped around three sides of the house supported by great wooden columns.

I can remember sitting on the bed in my friend's room during a raging storm. The wind howled around the corners of the house, the lightning washed the sky white, and the thunder shook the earth, but inside those strong walls I felt perfectly safe and secure.

God's love is like that. But unlike most "dwelling places," God's love won't weaken or decay with time and weather. It withstands the ages of eternity and the battering elements of our constant sin without altering or changing. If nothing else, the knowledge of God's steadfast love toward us is sufficient reason to take joy today.

--Catherine Wilson