O Love of God, How Strong and True, Part II

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. II Thess. 2:16-17

I think God's love is most precious to us in our trials. In the days of weariness and ill, His love heals, comforts and blesses us.

O heavenly love, how precious still,
In days of weariness and ill,
In nights of pain and helplessness,
To heal, to comfort, and to bless!

He has given us His promise that He will not leave us or forsake us, even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. We are His children, and He has redeemed us; He is our protector and our deliverer even when we are overcome with pain and helplessness.

But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." Isaiah 43:1-3

When we are in the midst of difficult or painful situations, it is so encouraging to remember that we will never be separated from God's love in Christ Jesus. Because of the great love with which He loves us, we can trust in His plan for us and know that He is working through our pain and suffering to sanctify us and glorify Himself.

Ultimately, our trials and our pain here on earth remind us that this sinful world is not our home. We must keep our eyes on Jesus as we wait for Him to call us to Himself through His mercy.

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. Jude 1:20-21

When you are facing the painful trials of this world, keep yourself in the love of God. Be encouraged by His word and His promises, and most of all, look forward to our home in heaven where no tears will be shed.

O Love of God, How Strong and True
Words by Horatio Bonar

O love of God, how strong and true!
Eternal, and yet ever new;
Uncomprehended and unbought,
Beyond all knowledge and all thought.

O love of God, how deep and great!
Far deeper than man’s deepest hate;
Self fed, self kindled, like the light,
Changeless, eternal, infinite.

O heavenly love, how precious still,
In days of weariness and ill,
In nights of pain and helplessness,
To heal, to comfort, and to bless!

O wide embracing, wondrous love!
We read thee in the sky above,
We read thee in the earth below,
In seas that swell, and streams that flow.

We read thee best in Him who came
To bear for us the cross of shame;
Sent by the Father from on high,
Our life to live, our death to die.

We read thy power to bless and save,
E’en in the darkness of the grave;
Still more in resurrection light,
We read the fullness of thy might.

O love of God, our shield and stay
Through all the perils of our way!
Eternal love, in thee we rest
Forever safe, forever blest.