God’s Unfailing Love.

“Return, O Lord, and rescue me. Save me because of your unfailing love.” – Psalm 6:4 NLT

God rescues.
God saves.
God heals.
God shows compassion.
God hears.
God restores.
God answers.
God rebukes.
God disciplines.
God loves.

Those are just a few of the things that David knew about God. So when things weren’t going so well in David’s life, he turned to God. David was suffering greatly. We don’t know why. He was weak, in agony, sick at heart, in grief, and physically worn out from crying. He wasn’t even sure if what he was going through was because of something he had done. It didn’t seem to matter. Whether his suffering was the result of his own sin or the sin of someone else, he was going to turn to God. He was going to appeal to God’s unfailing love and mercy. David says, “I am weak.” His appeal is not based on his worthiness, but his weakness. He knew that he needed God. His strength was gone, his resources spent, his options wiped out. Like David, we need to come to the place that we understand our greatest argument before God is our NEED. As long as we harbor any thoughts of self-sufficiency, we will miss out on God’s unfailing love. It is not that He stops loving us, but that we fail to experience the full affects of that love because we keep trying to meet our own need. James 4:6 reminds us that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” He opposes the prideful – those who resist Him and refuse to humble themselves before Him. But He shows favor to the humble – those who have been humiliated by circumstances or who simply understand their need for God.

David had a strong belief in God’s ability to hear him and to do something about his situation. In fact, in verses 8-9 David speaks in the past tense. He says, “The Lord HAS heard my weeping. The Lord HAS heard my plea.” Then he speaks confidently about the future: “The Lord WILL answer my prayer.” David had confidence in his God. He understood the character of His God. For David it was not a matter of whether God would act, but how long until He would. “How long, O Lord, until you restore me?” (Psalm 6:4 NLT). Isn’t that the question we all ask? But only God knows the answer and He is not obligated to tell us the answer. Joseph spent more than three years in a prison suffering for a crime he did not commit. The Israelites spent 70 years in captivity for sins they DID commit. God will act when the time is right. He will do what is needed right when it is needed to be done. We need to look to God, not for the solution to our problem. God may delay, but that does not mean God is not doing anything. Waiting is part of the process of trusting. It is while we wait for the answer that we learn to know the One from whom the answer will eventually come. The objective is NOT a solved problem, but the problem solver. We must seek to know God in the midst of our circumstances.

Andrew Murray puts it this way: “Waiting in the sunshine of His love is what will ripen the soul for His blessing. Waiting under the cloud of trial, that breaks in showers of blessing, is just as necessary. Be assured that if God waits longer than you could wish, it is only to make the blessing doubly precious. God waited four thousand years, until the fulness of time, before He sent His Son. Our times are in His hands, He will avenge His select speedily. He will make haste for our help and not delay one hour too long.” – Andrew Murray, Waiting On God.

Father, help me to learn to wait well. And while I am waiting, let me look for You. Don’t let me obsess with the answer I am looking for, but instead, let me obsess with You. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org