For many years, my husband and I made a daily "habit" of spending time together at some point during the day declaring God's Word over us and our family. There were a number of scriptures that we read together. Psalm 103 was one of them.
I love this Psalm because David begins by exhorting us to praise God, and encourages us not to forget all the benefits that God has given us. He goes on to remind us of God's rich love and mercy.
Verse 17 says:
"The mercy and loving kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting... His righteousness to our children's children."
How amazing is our God? He loved us before the world began and He will keep on loving us. He sees the way we are and yet chooses to love us unconditionally. That is a hard concept for us to comprehend - the kind of love that is like no other.
His love does not extend just to us, but to our children - and their children; to all the future generations that are to come. His love brings future and it brings hope. We can trust God to look after our family. He loves each one of them so much more that we can.
Perhaps you are feeling like you've messed up too much for God to look at you, never mind love you. Or possibly you feel that your children or other family members have strayed so far from God that there is no hope for them and nothing will ever change. Maybe today you can begin by simply declaring God's love for you and His love for your family.
"God loves me. His love for me is unconditional. He love me! God thank you for loving my kids; for loving my family; thank you that you never have stopped loving them and you never will."
As we embrace His love, His everlasting unconditional love, we will find that our lives will change. As we dwell and meditate on how much He loves our family (whatever that "family" may look like) we will begin to look at things differently. Hope will start to rise and our faith will be built up.
In our world today, families are evolving and changing all the time. There are births and deaths, marriages, separation and divorce. Life happens and we may find ourselves in a place that we never thought we would be. Our family doesn't look like everyone else's and we just can't see the future generation. Know today that our God is a God who redeems, restores, and heals your brokenness.
This journey of life hasn't always been easy. My "family" looks different than what I thought it would look like at this time in my life. My husband is in his happy place - with Jesus. Things are just not what I thought they would be. One thing I do know: God's love has kept me. His love is a promise that is sure, and I can trust Him not only with my life but with my family. He has a future and hope for each one of us. He will not reject us, but will continually pour out HIs love and mercy, from everlasting to everlasting.
CHERYL SEXSMITH
