November 13, 2017 • Life for Leaders
“Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
Isaiah 54:10
Geologists teach us that mountains do, in fact, move. The towering mountain ranges of this world are a result of the slow movement of the earth’s tectonic plates. We also know that hills do disappear. Erosion wears away soft dirt and even rock, turning hills into plains and plains into canyons.
God’s love is more stable and lasting than the mountains and the hills. It will remain forever, never to be eroded away. When God commits himself to us, that commitment will never be broken.
The love of God, shown to Israel through God’s covenant, is revealed to the world in Jesus Christ, who embodied God’s mercy on the cross. Thus we read in the New Testament letter to the Romans: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38-39).
What marvelous news… something upon which to base our lives! Something more solid than the mountains. Something more lasting than the hills.
Most of us go through times in which we question God’s love. Suffering, disappointment, and injustice can make our hearts doubt. In these times, we need the reassurance of Isaiah 54 and Romans 8. We need to know, in faith, that God’s love lasts forever and will never let us go.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
How have you experienced God’s love in your life?
What difference does God’s love for you make each day?
What helps you to have confidence in God’s love for you?
If you really believed that God loved you, how might you live differently today?
PRAYER:
Gracious God, when I think of the towering mountains, they seem so utterly stable, solid, and fixed. They feel timeless in their grandeur. Yet your love, O Lord, is so much more permanent, so much more glorious, so much more reliable. Even as the lofty peaks lift my spirits and restore my soul, so does your love.
How I thank you for loving me! Thanks most of all for revealing your love in the death of Christ. In him, I see your sacrificial love for me. In the cross, I know your love will never, ever let me go. Hallelujah! Amen.
Explore more at the Theology of Work Project online commentary: The Help We Really Need
Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a Senior Strategist for Fuller’s Max De Pree Center for Leadership, where he focuses on the spiritual development and thriving of leaders. He is the principal writer of the daily devotional, Life for Leaders, and the founder of the De Pree Center’s Flourishing in the Third Third of Life Initiative. Previously, Mark was the Executive Director of the De Pree Center, the lead pastor of a church in Southern California, and the Senior Director of Laity Lodge in Texas. He has written eight books, dozens of articles, and over 2,500 devotions that help people discover the difference God makes in their daily life and leadership. With a Ph.D. in New Testament from Harvard, Mark teaches at Fuller Seminary, most recently in his D.Min. cohort on “Faith, Work, Economics, and Vocation.” Mark is married to Linda, a marriage and family counselor, spiritual director, and executive coach. Their two grown children are educators on the high school and college level.
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